Who's the True Admirer?
by Animation Universe 2005
Summary: Set place after the movie where Meena's having a crush on the guy at school, but her next-door neighbor has a crush on her; one is a humble, shy musician and the other a boastful dude at school, but things ain't always what they seem with the guy Meena's crushing on at her school. So...who's the admirer? Find out and Enjoy! Meena/OC
1. Life in School

This is my first official Sing fanfic involving Meena where one person has a crush on her, but she has a crush on another guy who thinks is the perfect one, but what happens if the perfect guy she's crushing isn't what he seems and the admirer is right in front of her all along...and it's the next-door neighbor? You'll find the answer here! Enjoy!

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Who's the True Admirer?

by: Terrell James

Chapter 1: Life in High School

A sunny morning in Animalia comes in as everyone heads to school and work to jump start their day and we seek Meena standing on the bus stop with her headphones on listening to Justin Wolverlake's song 'Can't Stop the Feeling' and she seems very excited to head to school because there's this guy that she's crushing hard for and she hopes that he'll get to notice her soon. Seconds later, here comes the school bus as she heads inside the bus to take her seat as she makes her way to school and listens on her headphones.

On that same bus, there's a young 16 year old cheetah, wearing a grey and white hoodie wrapped around his waist, with a blue T-shirt and some khaki pants and some black and grey sneakers and a beanie on his head; stands at about 6'2, weighing at 178 pounds; with light blue eyes and a dog tag necklace on his neck, listening to 5 Seconds of Simians on his phone on his earbuds and when he looks up for a second, he sees Meena sitting a few seats behind him and all he could do is just sigh in admiration.

The young cheetah's had a crush on Meena and it seems as though he's got that same feeling before and he's hoping that she'll notice him, but he's too nervous to even say hi to her...making it even harder is that she's his next-door neighbor. He's lived next door to Meena for most of his life and grew up around her, but he's never disclosed the fact that he's had a crush on her before. He even went to his phone to shuffle through some pictures and the one picture he remembered was when they were 10 at a summer camp for music and they're the best of friends.

That's pretty much the description of their relationship; just friends. But this young cheetah feels like he should be more than that one day when he gets a chance to tell her how he really feels about her. Yet at the same time, he doesn't want to do anything to sort of jeopardize their friendship in any way and then things would get super awkward afterwards. Plus, she's an elephant and he's a cheetah, so the size might not fit in their relationship description.

By the time they arrived at school, all the kids got out of the school bus and afterwards, the young cheetah walks out and enters inside the school and the whole campus is like super huge; 35,000 square feet of space, almost ten times bigger than a traditional high school. He was completely aware that Meena's almost well known around the school due to the fact that people have seen and heard her sing at the talent show at the Moon Theater and he always knew that her singing voice was phenomenal; which is the main reason he's crushing so hard for her.

The young cheetah takes a deep breath and heads straight for Meena's locker and he said, "Hey, Meena."

Meena looks up and sees her cheetah friend standing there and he said, "Hey, Morrison. How's it going?"

"Pretty good, pretty good. You?" asked Morrison.

"Same here. By the way, thanks for helping out at the fundraiser for my grandmother. I really appreciate it." Meena said, smiling.

"Oh, it's no problem. I'm just happy to do it. How's she doing, by the way?" asked Morrison.

Meena sighs in response and said, "Still the same as always. My grandfather just couldn't stop talking about how you performed and how I performed. He's probably told the entire neighborhood, I'm sure."

Morrison chuckled at that comment and he remembers just rocking out on stage during the fundraiser and how much fun he had as well as showing extreme passion for music and he was also mesmerized by Meena's singing voice and how blown away he was for even listening to that beautiful voice of hers endlessly. He then cleared his throat and opened his mouth to say something, but he saw Meena looking away as she swoons for someone walking this way.

"Here he comes." Meena said, sighing.

"Who?" asked Morrison, looking up.

Then, Morrison looks and sees this tall muscular water buffalo; 17 years of age, standing at 6'2, weighing at 198 pounds, wearing a large white and green t-shirt with the words 'For all the ladies...' and some dark brown shorts, dark brown eyes; walking down the halls stopping the hearts of all girls standing in the lockers at the hallway, swooning, sighing and giggling amongst themselves as he walks past them.

"Oh...Trevor." Morrison said, unimpressed.

"Yeah, isn't he a dreamy?" asked Meena, sighing.

"He's...something." Morrison answered, not wanting to send negative vibes in front of Meena.

Meena takes a deep breath and has to show herself available to him and said, "Okay, I'm gonna do it. Today will be the day that I say hi to him. Do I look okay?"

Meena was looking at herself in the mirror to see if there's any flaws in her to prevent Trevor from shutting her out completely and when Morrison looks at Meena, he could see that there are no flaws in her whatsoever and just smiled as he looks at her just the way she is and Meena looks at Morrison and asked, "How do I look? Do I look okay?"

Morrison widened his eyes and only replied, "You look definitely beautiful."

"Aw, Morrison...thank you. You're the best friend an elephant could ever have." Meena said, smiling as she made her way towards Trevor.

Morrison blinked his eyes and lets out a dejected sigh and said, "Yeah, what are friends for?"

Meena makes her way towards Trevor and she comes right behind him and said, "Hi, Trevor."

"Hello, Meena." Trevor responded.

That made Meena's day more joyful as he knew her name and asked, "How'd you know my name?"

"I saw you on that talent show on TV a few weeks ago. You've got a gift." Trevor responded.

Meena giggled in response to that and she was caught off guard that he saw her perform in front of the crowd and said, "You saw that?"

"Yeah, especially when you almost brought down the theater. That's just awesome." Trevor said, chuckling.

Meena blushed in response and blinked her eyes and said, "You saw that too?"

"Yeah, I did. But you really got a great voice. I like that about you." Trevor added.

"Wow...thank you." Meena said, still giggling.

Suddenly, the bell rings and Trevor snorts as he turned to her and said, "Well, I gotta get to class. Maybe I'll see you around?"

That made Meena's heart flutter with excitement that he'll see her around and said, "Um...yeah, okay. Sure!"

"Cool. See you, Meena." Trevor replied, then taking off to first period.

Meena sees Trevor walking away and she just felt like she was standing on cloud nine and she puts her back against someone's locker and just swooned in content after that and then, Morrison walks by and asked, "How'd it go?"

"He said 'I'll see you around'...Mo, I think I'm in love." Meena said, sighing happily.

Morrison scratched the back of his neck as he heard what Meena just said and he said, "That's...great, Meena."

"You and Trevor are on the track team, right?" asked Meena.

"Well, yeah...but we're not exactly teammates, per se. We just see each other at practice and at Friday night tournaments, even though I don't really care for track." Morrison answered.

"You're like the fastest guy I know, but I also know that you love music. Maybe you should go forward with it." Meena added.

Morrison sighed at that concept and said, "I would if I could, but I'm voted 'Most Fastest Track Runner' like 5 times in a row...and that's just sophomore year. At some point, I'll consider early retirement, but...that's gonna put on hold for now."

"You should think about it." Meena replied, getting herself up to head to class.

Morrison did the same as well and the only thing he's thinking about is how he's gonna express his crush on Meena now and he just took a deep breath and walked through the halls and into his first class, which is the same one that Meena's in. He sits a few rows near her and he just kept staring at her in admiration and hopes that she'll be his first real girlfriend one day.

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Not bad for a first chapter! Stick around for more!


	2. Track Training

To get a feel for Morrison's daily life at school, we start with his role in track. Obviously, being a cheetah with a huge amount of speed, that's the biggest advantage while also dealing with his teammate Trevor (which Meena's got a crush on and the only competitor fighting for Meena's affection is Trevor himself) and how he deals with it, but Morrison is not one to be competitive nor arrogant at all, but is just looking out for Meena. Hopefully, this will clear everything.

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Chapter 2: Track Practice

At the football field, Morrison got on his track running gear; his athletic tank top and basketball shorts along with the others as he stretches his legs and arms for the daily practice run to test their skills, speed and agility. As far as Morrison himself goes, he's got the most speed of any animal in the team and can outrun anyone and anything. But he's not really one for hogging all the glory nor be recognized for what he does best and boast about how awesome he is. He's always one for keeping it to himself and just do it because he loves it, though he loves music even more.

Just then, in comes Trevor walking by a few minutes late for prep practice and he comes in to stretch a little, then takes selfies of him flexing his muscles for the ladies...a habit that kinda grates on Morrison's nerves a little bit and just lets out a silent, muffled snarl and after Trevor took some selfies, he does a few jumping jacks and brushing off his shoulders.

"Gotta look good for the ladies, you know what I'm saying?" Trevor chuckled, very smirky and cocky.

Morrison barely even said a word while he's exercising to get prepped up for the practice and keep his mind on straight focus, but it also reverts to Meena as well and wonders why she'd have a crush on him in the first place. He's not really a jealous person nor is he an envious, prideful person as well. He's just looking out for someone's best interest and in this case, he's looking out for Meena's.

Just then, the track coach comes in, blowing his whistle as the students gathered around and the coach comes over and said, "All right, gang. Last week's game was a huge success for the track team. Our top two contenders; Morrison and Trevor have killed it last time, so you will have to work as hard if not harder than what we've been practicing."

Trevor looks at Morrison in the face with a very gluttonous smirk and figures that he can outrun him despite the fact that cheetahs are the fastest runners in all four paws. He lets out a quiet cocky chuckle and isn't that bothered by Morrison's agility because he could beat him at his own game. Morrison, on the other hand...is the exact opposite of Trevor because he knows he's got this in the bag, but is always one for playing fair and square and takes every victory or defeat with humility and grace, no matter the outcome.

"Places, students!" the coach exclaimed.

Everyone got down on all fours, placed their starting points and stayed focused as they patiently wait for the gun to fire and Morrison just waited for the right moment as he puts his best paws forward and Trevor looks directly at Morrison thinking that'll outrun him and then...

BANG!

Everyone was off and running in all fours and Trevor went further from Morrison, attempting to cut him off, but Morrison knew that Trevor isn't a fair player to the game, so he played at his own pace and just ran faster across the track and as he raced rapidly, Trevor tried his best to outrun him by shoving him out of the way, but Morrison got back up and kept going anyways, this time going ahead of Trevor and a few others as well.

Trevor snorted in annoyance as he kept going across the track to defeat Morrison, but somehow and someway, another track student went ahead of Trevor and right behind Morrison, but Morrison quickly leapt ahead and ran as fast as he can until the coach blew the whistle, prompting them all to stop.

Everyone panted heavily as they tried to catch their breath but Morrison shook it all off as he panted very steadily and gave himself a chance to catch his breath while Trevor walked straight towards the cheetah and said, "What the hell, man?! Isn't there one day where you don't show off?"

"I never show off. It's what I'm born with." Morrison replied.

Trevor seethed at the cheetah and just got completely jealous of Morrison's agility and said, "You think you're all that with your speed just because you're the fastest one in the school?"

Rather than start a fight, Morrison walks away as he didn't want to start something he can't finish, but Trevor wasn't finished yet because he had more words to say, but the coach cut him off mid-way and with a very sour look in his face, he said, "I saw what you did. This is the 15th time this school year you've tried to cut off Morrison on practice. You keep it up and consider yourself off the team. Understood?"

"Yes, sir." Trevor responded.

The coach walks off and he comes over to commend Morrison on a job well done at practice and Morrison humbly accepts it, which makes Trevor really jealous and felt that he should be on the top of his game instead of the cheetah. Just then, Trevor seizes an opportunity when he spots Meena coming this way and he shows off his muscular arms to work out to gain Meena's attention and just like that, Meena spots him exercising and she leans over to the side and swoons softly.

He then comes over to her with a little bit of bravado and said, "Hey there."

"Hi, Trevor. Saw you running...you're very fit." Meena said, smiling.

"Thanks, I work out a lot. Gotta hit that cardio before my muscular awesomeness sets in." Trevor added.

Meena giggled girlishly at that and said, "You're so cute when nothing you say makes any sense."

After the talk with the coach, Morrison got his duffel bag to hit the showers but not before he spots Meena talking with Trevor and it sounds as if Trevor's hitting on her or flirting with her. Whatever it is or his motives might be, he could see something right through him and it's not only a weird sight, but something tells him that Meena isn't the first person he's ever flirted with as he has a reputation to charm a pretty girl and leave them afterwards.

He lets out a sigh and just headed to the locker room, brushing it off of his mind but he is keep a lookout for Meena and an even closer eye on Trevor too.

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We'll see how Trevor becomes later on the story and only Morrison sees right through his cool facade soon. There's more coming up soon!


	3. Musically Inclined

Aside from his track talents, here's his true passion!

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Chapter 3: Musically Inclined

That afternoon, around 2:45 pm, when everyone else is ready to head home from school or sticking around for some after school activities or practices, Morrison walks across the hallways of the school passing everyone else and headed straight to the back of the music class, where during that time...it's just empty. Nothing much a lot of musical instruments all around the room and since no one's teaching anyways, he figured that he can just goof around there for a while until the bell rings.

The first place to head to was the keyboard because he's more trained that way and it's also a good excuse to release some pent up feelings he's kept inside for a long period now, especially today's events when it comes to dealing with Trevor at practice run as well as his crush on Meena. He sits down, turns on the keyboard and starts playing a few keys. As he plays it, he just started very soft and sweet and tender as he visualizes his crush on Meena and how much he admires her so much, but also kinda sad that she doesn't know it yet or is a little unsure to even tell her.

Then, the key changes upward to frustration that he won't get a chance to tell her because of the fact that she's got a crush on Trevor and not that he's a competitive person when it comes to girls, there's just something about Trevor that doesn't sit right with him because he is known to be a player off the field, especially when it comes to the ladies.

Range of emotions have seeped in as he's playing on the piano; happy, sad, frustration, fear and selflessness as he pounds the keys really hard and just lays it all out there as it goes from super fast and dramatic to slow and mellow with a hint of sensitivity mixed in, but one remained a constant; told from the heart. After several minutes on the piano, he takes a deep breath and cracked his knuckles to give those ivories a rest and he shuts off the keyboard and moves from there to the guitar.

Morrison picks up the guitar hanging from the wall, carefully brings it down, wraps the strap around him, sits down on the stool and starts strumming the guitar. He's been very accustomed to the guitar because it's the one instrument aside from the piano that can really pull in any emotional state in many period of his life; whether bad or good experiences.

He kept thinking about Meena as he strums the guitar, almost as if it's like one of those cheesy pop love songs all over the radio that people listen to every day. Morrison doesn't particularly care for those types of songs, although he does understand the full meaning behind them. He's more of a punk-rock, hip-hop, EDM freakishly indie person and those are kind of his thing. As for this particular occasion, he's willing to make a little exception and just lets his guard down for a little and allow himself to be more vulnerable and make the guitar do the talking for him.

Within a few strums later, he had felt like he's gotten every ounce of emotion out of him without singing a tune and after one last strum, he just laid his heart on his sleeve.

RIIIIIIIIIIIIINGGGGGGGGG!

The bell rings and he knows what that means; put away the guitar for now, grab his bags and walk out of the back of the music room without anyone noticing and walk down the halls to head for home. Yet, someone who was actually in the music room heard Morrison's music abilities and that someone was Meena, who was listening in the other room next to the music room. She was completely blown away by his style of music, though didn't really hear him sing yet.

Nevertheless, she was truly amazed by this and she thought up something to explore his talents even further as she walked out of the room and headed her way to the buses.

* * *

Aside from Morrison's crush on Meena, it's intertwined with Morrison's storyline as we get to know him a little more. More coming up!


	4. Skating His Way Home

And we seek a little bit of Morrison's home life...

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Chapter 4: Skating His Way Home

Morrison walks out of the school and walks a couple of blocks around before stopping, taking out his skateboard and he got on it as he starts skating his way home rather than taking the bus. For Morrison, skating is like one of his greater outlets amongst anything else and just feeling the wind on his fur as he skates through the streets because he knew his way from school and to the house. Amongst some traffic, he easily glides through the cars, zig-zagging in every direction in full speed, but also slowing down in his own pace to avoid any collisions.

It was about a 10 minute skate trek from school to home and once he got to his neighborhood, he stops at a sidewalk, stomps on his board and clutches it as he heads to the corner of his house and steps into the backyard and stopped at the welcome mat, kneels down, pulls it over and sees the spare key under it and he unlocks the door, opens it up and silently puts the keys back in the ground and re-covered it under the mat and closed the door.

He takes off his sneakers and heads to the kitchen to get a little snack before getting started on his homework and he went in the fridge to get some sodas and some cookies before receiving a text from his mom on his phone. Like clockwork, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and reads the text, 'Mo, had a little business meeting to attend. Should be home by 7:00 or later; dinner's already in the oven, still baking; take it out by 4:30 and then 30 minutes afterwards, put it back in the oven to keep it warm. Love you, mom.'

Morrison smelled the aroma coming from the oven and when he opened the oven door, he smelled some lasagna inside there and he lets out a very satisfying sigh as he loves his mother's lasagna and he immediately texted her back saying, 'Already ahead of you! Love you too!'

He then shuts the oven door, put his backpack on the counter, took out a few folders and books and started on his homework immediately as he started on his math homework. Math isn't really his favorite subject ever, but for some reason...he managed to go through them in under 25 minutes because there were a couple of math problems to solve in two pages and then afterwards, he spent 30 minutes on history homework and he excels very well in history.

While munching on his snacks and guzzling on soda, he was focused on his homework and completed his final subject; English. It took him no less than 20 minutes to sort through every subject in English and after that, he puts everything back on his bag and headed straight for his room. Knowing that he's the only one in the house, he felt as if it's a good opportunity to take advantage of the time he's got to play some guitar.

He picked up his guitar, sat down on the floor of his bed and started strumming a few tunes and just played with his own guitar and jammed out for a while and as he was doing that, he had just imagined himself taking on the stage just performing up a storm. If there's nothing he loves more, it's music. It's Morrison's way of expressing himself through song; whether it's singing or playing instruments with whatever emotions or things he's going through.

He was unaware that a certain teenage elephant is watching him from her window next door as Morrison just plays his guitar, looking like a rock star and she just giggled as she's enjoying watching him play guitar and soon enough, Morrison just jumped on his bed while still playing and just felt like everything he had felt inside of him was just released.

It wasn't until the final strum that he heard some clapping from behind and he turns around and sees Meena standing there and that literally made Morrison completely embarrassed to see his crush watching everything from her own eyes. He chuckled softly and then sets down his guitar, went to the window, opened it, stuck his head out there and asked, "How long have you been standing here?"

"Just got home and heard someone playing guitar, only to find my neighbor was playing guitar himself and just looked like a star out there." Meena answered.

Morrison chuckled sheepishly and replied, "Well, I don't know about that."

"I do. You're like a natural!" Meena replied.

The young cheetah knew that she was right, but he's just a little shy to show off most of his talent in front of a crowd or even one person. He doesn't have advanced stage fright like Meena had, but he's just used to performing or practicing in private. He then tells her, "Kinda. It's not like a huge deal or anything. It's just something I like to do."

"Kinda like when you were in the music room?" asked Meena, with a sheepish giggle.

That literally surprised Morrison quickly and asked, "How'd you know where I was?"

"I was in the next room behind the music room and I saw and heard you play the piano and the guitar before school ended. You'd make a great fit." Meena stated.

"I thought I was alone." Morrison said, blushing.

"So did I. Hey, you know you oughta come to the Moon Theater sometime. You'd love it there! Oh, as a matter of fact, I gotta head there right now. See you later, Mo!" Meena replied, as she waved.

"Bye." Morrison replied, as he watched Meena walk out of the door and after a while, Morrison just couldn't contain his giddy nature as he was just infatuated with her.

As he watched Meena walk out on his window, he just sighed happily and he just hoped that he'll get a chance to tell her how he feels about her and he just sat down on the ground, smiling as if he got bit by the lovebug...hard.

"Oh, Meena..." Morrison said, sighing.

* * *

Not only do Morrison and Meena go to school together, they live next door towards each other. Kinda cool, huh? Stay tuned for more!


	5. Evening Alone

And here's what a typical afternoon for Morrison is like after school when he has the house to himself...

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Chapter 5: Evening Alone

4:28 PM

Morrison walks downstairs to check on the lasagna his mom made for dinner and comes into the kitchen, puts on some oven mitts, opens the oven, slides the lasagna out of the oven and puts it on the stove for a while, opens it up and the smell of the lasagna just overpowered his smell buds instantly as he couldn't wait to taste it. He turned off the oven and just set the lasagna aside for a while and he pulls his phone out and texts his mom to let him know that the lasagna is out. One quick text later, he reads her response, 'Thanks, Mo! You can get yourself a little plate of it and then make some garlic bread in the toaster oven. Don't forget to put the lasagna back in the oven in 30 minutes!'

Morrison replied with the text and texted back, 'No probs!'

He went to the freezer and saw the garlic bread there, picks it up, grabs one packet and puts all the garlic bread in tiny baking sheet, puts the oven in at 400 and sets it there for 10 minutes and he grabs a plate, puts a few things of lasagna on there, grabs a fork and sits down to eat some lasagna. One bite and he completely savored the taste of it and just ate every single bite like it's the last one.

"Mom, you certainly know how to make good lasagna." Morrison said, happily.

After eating some lasagna, the garlic bread smells just about done and he puts his mitts back on, takes the bread out and puts it in the main oven along with the lasagna so that he can keep them warm. After that, he puts the plate on the dishwasher and after that, he heads to the living room to play some video games for a while, including his favorite Timberwolf Kart and he saw his older brother's score beneath him and is determined to outscore him and he played in several levels for about 30 minutes before finally outscoring his brother.

Once he saw Morrison's score go up, he lets out a chuckle and said, "Am I glad Vincent's not here to see this."

After playing some video games, he heads to the couch to watch a little bit of TV, just channel surfing until sees his favorite sitcom; The Big Boar Theory. As he's watching, he received a ring on his phone and saw that he's gonna be FaceRoared by one of his friends and he answered the phone and saw his friend; a young white wolf, about 16 years of age, light orange eyes and has on a black and grey tank top and wearing a baseball cap backwards and Morrison said, "Hey, Milo, what's up man?"

"Not much, dude...just watching How I Met Your Stepmother. You?" asked Milo.

"The Big Boar Theory." Morrison replied.

"Man, that show is awesome! I hope it never gets cancelled!" Milo said, in excitement.

Morrison chuckled softly and replied, "So, what's up?"

"Well, I saw Meena heading to the Moon Theater as I was skating back home and not only that, Trevor said he wants to break your record of the most runs on track." Milo answered.

"Where did you hear that from? Aside from his mouth?" asked Morrison.

"It's on FaceFurrBook." Milo answered.

As Morrison is still seeing his friend on his phone, he checked out the site himself and saw Trevor's post there and it said, 'Gonna mess with my opponent's record breaking score! Or outscore him! I'll completely own his popularity by a landslide!' Morrison was deeply annoyed and stunned by this and told Milo, "Very typical of him."

"What are you gonna do?" asked Milo.

"Honestly, he doesn't deserve any records. But at the same time, he won't stay on top for long. I wouldn't want this guy's karma." Morrison added.

"Yeah, he thinks he can outdo anyone and win all the time, which is really impossible to do." Milo stated.

"True. Anyways, about my track racing thing, I'm thinking of moving on from the sport and just focus on music." Morrison explains.

"Yeah, I can kinda tell that you're over track during the last practice runs. Your heart and stamina was there, but I think you'll do awesome in music." Milo added.

"Meena wants me to check out the Moon Theater." Morrison said.

"So go. I hear it's back on the map." Milo suggested.

"Yeah, it is. But you know how I am around Meena. You're the one person that knows I have a crush on her. Plus, we've been friends for a long time and I don't wanna do anything to jeopardize it." Morrison added.

"I get it, man. But remember...you never know what you'll do if you don't try." Milo added.

"I guess you're right. I may have to check out the Moon Theater one day, just to see what it's like." Morrison responded.

"Cool. Gotta go, man. Code 9." Milo responded.

"Parents nearby?" asked Morrison.

"Yep, see you tomorrow." Milo said.

"Bye, dude." Morrison said, before hanging up.

* * *

BTW, Code 9 is cell-phone speak for parents are home. Stay tuned for more!


	6. Singing a Lullaby

Here's proof that Morrison has a special musical gift...singing.

* * *

Chapter 6: Singing a Lullaby

Hours later, Morrison was at his little brother's room as he read him a bedtime story and his little brother became very content in hearing what Morrison's saying and he just imagined himself being a part of that story where he can fight off pirates and save the girl from danger and just be the hero that he's becoming and he liked that feeling and just visualized it in his head and just smiled throughout the story.

"...and the hero and his true love were looking at the sunset, looking for a better future together. The End." Morrison said, smiling.

He tucked his little brother in and the little cub said, "That was awesome, Mo."

"Thanks, Tucker." Morrison replied.

As Morrison was set to leave the room, Tucker looked at Morrison and said, "Can you sing me something before you go?"

That was the one request Morrison knew would help Tucker go to sleep, but he knows that he doesn't really like sharing his talent to anyone else and he walked over to his brother's side and asked, "A song?"

"Yeah, I like hearing you sing whenever I fall asleep or when I'm scared." Tucker replied.

"Tuck, I've sang to you thousands of times when you go to sleep." Morrison chuckled softly.

"I know, but...you're the only person I know that can sing me to sleep aside from my mom. But she doesn't sing as good as you." Tucker said, replying the latter part in a half-whisper.

Morrison didn't know how to react to that logic, but he did have a point there. He has heard his mom sing and it doesn't sound quite as good, but it would put him to sleep anyways when he was younger. He lets out a deep sigh and began to think of one and then he just realized that there was one he listened to on the radio recently and even though it's not his type of music, he hoped that it'll be the one thing that will make Trevor fall asleep.

"I think I got one." Morrison said, looking at his brother with a smile.

He clears his throat and began singing to him as Tucker lets out a little yawn and begins singing the first part of the song.

 _Like a small boat on the ocean_

 _Sending big waves into motion_

 _Like how a single word can make a heart open_

 _I might only have one match, but I can make an explosion_

 _This is my fight song_

 _Take back my life song_

 _Prove I'm all right song_

 _My power's turned on_

 _Starting right now I'll be strong_

 _I'll play my fight song_

 _And I don't really care if nobody else believes_

 _Cuz I still got a lot of fight left in me_

As Morrison kept singing, Tucker's eyes slowly started drooping and it might've worked and then Morrison went to another song to keep it steady and he knows one that will put him to sleep entirely.

 _There's a hero if you look inside your heart_

 _You don't have to be afraid of what you are_

 _There's an answer if you reach into your soul_

 _And the sorrow that you know will melt away_

 _And then a hero comes along_

 _with the strength to carry on_

 _And you cast your fears aside_

 _and you know you can survive_

 _So when you feel like hope is gone_

 _Look inside you and be strong_

 _and you'll finally see the truth_

 _that a hero lies in you_

Soon enough, Tucker was lightly snoring and he was fast asleep instantly and Morrison smiled at this and he quietly finished out the last parts of the song.

 _That a hero lies in you..._

He quietly gets up from the side of Tucker's bed and whispered, "Good night, Tucker."

He then leaves the room and quietly closes the door and makes his way upstairs to his own room before coming face to face with his big brother Vincent; a somewhat bulky cheetah, 18 years old, stands at 198 pounds, stands at 6'3, green and amber eyes and is only wearing a dark cerulean tank top and black and red basketball shorts coming by and he said, "So...you beat my high score?"

"What does it matter?" asked Morrison.

"You know I'm unbeatable at this game. Who gave you permission to do that?" asked Vincent, getting a little conpetitive.

"It just happened." Morrison replied, knowing that he fully beat his big brother's high score.

Vincent scoffs with an unconvinced look and said, "I hope you get an extra dose of sleep because I can beat you at the game and outscore you."

Morrison looked at his watch and saw that it's about 8:45 andhe figured that he's got plenty of time to take down Vincent at a video game and said, "Let's do it, man."

30 minutes later

Morrison leaves Vincent's room a little exhausted while Vincent is just doing a victory dance to outbeat his score as retribution to take down his score to begin with and Morrison lets out a deep amused sigh and just let his brother bask in the glory and heads to his room to get himself some rest, but he saw his mom come by and she looked at Morrison and said, "I heard you singing to Tucker again. You've got a very fabulous voice."

"I know, mom...and I should share that gift to the world more often. But sometimes there are some parts of my talents that I shouldn't share yet." Morrison stated.

"Morrison, you know you have talent. Why do you always sell yourself short?" asked his mom.

"Because I'm always worried about what other people might think and also because it's uncool for someone like me who's athletically skilled to do music. I don't agree with it, but I'd rather keep it to myself instead of letting everyone know about my singing." Morrison answered.

"How will you know if you don't try it? I've seen you perform before and you have an amazing gift. I just wish you could see yourself the way I do, your father does, Tucker...and even Meena." his mom said, before walking away.

He knew that she had brought Meena into this and he lets out a deep sigh and just headed inside his room to get himself some rest as changed into his grey tank top and blue and white striped basketball shorts and just looked into the window next door and sees Meena singing in her room and just couldn't help but be mesmerized by her singing as he's always been and hopes that he'll get a chance to tell her how he feels, but the standing block in the way; Trevor.

* * *

Pretty cool, huh? The songs were 'Fight Song' and 'Hero'! I own neither one of them; only my OC's! Stay tuned for more!


	7. Dealing with Trevor

Then, here's how Morrison copes with Meena being infatuated by Trevor's charm and 'swag'. Morrison is never the jealous, competitive type, but is looking out for Meena's best interest. But, we get to hear things about Trevor that no one even knows, not even Meena herself...which you'll find out later in the story. But you'll also get to see another group of friends that Morrison has outside of school.

* * *

Chapter 7: Dealing with Trevor

By the next day at school, Morrison heads to his locker to get some books for his next classes, but as he closed the door, he looks up and sees Trevor flirting with a few other girls and just showing off his muscles and good looks to them and he just lets out a very annoyed sigh as he heard those girls giggle and just walk off as Trevor looks at them with a very smug yet flirtatious look on his face and from a further away, Morrison sees Meena walking by and one look at Trevor and she just melted as he looks at her and winks at her. She responded with a giggle and waves back at her and Morrison could tell that he's being a little concerned for Meena and just walks to class.

"Hey, what's up Meena?" asked Trevor said, coming towards her.

"Hi, Trevor." Meena said, happily.

"Hey listen, I was kinda wondering what you're gonna be up to this Friday?" asked Trevor.

"Well...I'm about to go to the Moon Theater that day and then go to the track game to cheer Morrison on." Meena replied.

Just hearing Morrison's name gave Trevor a tiny chip on his shoulder, but brushed it off and said, "Well, how about cheering me on? Give me a text."

Trevor then pulls out his phone and Meena gave her number to him and he then sends out a test text to her as he leaves to head to his class and when she read the text, her heart fluttered faster when the first text from Trevor read, 'Hey baby, this is Trevor. Will u be my cheerleader Friday nite?', ending it with two hearts. Meena swoons at this and just responded, 'Yes' instantly.

During lunch, Morrison sits down with his friends and talk about everything from sports, food and life in general and as soon as they kept eating, Morrison sees Meena walking by and Trevor signaling her to come forth and she was definitely infatuated by him and she sat down at his table and just talked and whenever he talks, she felt like she was flying high on cloud nine.

Morrison sighed at this and giving this guy's egotistical flirtatious ways, he just fears that he might leave her for another girl to woo over his charms and Milo could tell that he's worried for Meena, but also contemplates that crush he has of her and he said, "I think this guy left the swagger in stupid coolsville."

"Yeah, there's something not right about him." the young 16-year old white wolf responded.

Morrison sighed heavily and said, "I don't know what to think. There's just something about that guy I don't like. Not because he's trying to win Meena over, but there's something there. I don't know what it is, but I don't think she's right for him."

"I know that glare anywhere. You'd think he's oh so perfect one day and when the girl falls deeper, he's hers and no one else's until he flirts with the next girl." Milo added.

That was the one thing that literally stunned Morrison the most and as he turned around, he saw Meena giggling and Trevor's just talking sweet towards her, complimenting her looks, voice, smile and everything under the sun. At first glance, it seems kinda innocent and charming and he turns to his friends and said, "I'll give it a week. When and if something's amiss, I'll know about it."

"You want us to deck him for you?" asked a 15 year old tiger, making some kung-fu moves.

"As much as I would love to see that, not at this moment. Just wait until he does something that would break her heart." Morrison added.

"If you need me to pounce him, I'll do that." the tiger added.

Morrison chuckled at this and said, "Chillax, Marshall."

"You wanna hang out at the skate park after school today?" asked Milo.

"Sure, man." Morrison replied.

After school

Morrison started skating his way to the skate park and has went through a few couple roads and corners and less than 15 minutes passed by and he saw Milo and Marshall waiting for him there and he waved at them and Morrison entered inside and he said, "Sup?"

"Ready to tear the half-pipe?" asked Marshall.

"Oh, you know it." Morrison said, excitedly.

Morrison sees most of his friends from school as well as at the skate park to skate together and they spent most of the afternoon, skating the half-pipe, skating rinks and many other places there as they showed off their sickest moves as to who can go higher and who can skate faster. Most of them are on their phones, filming every moment possible to capture the moment and see if anyone can do what they do.

After an hour and a half of skating, the group just talked about stuff and life in general about what they've been up to at home and school and one of the skaters asked Morrison, "Hey, man...you still doing music?"

"Sorta kinda." Morrison replied.

"Dude, in all the times I've known you and skated with you, you're an awesome musician." the skate exclaimed.

"He's kinda worried that his street cred will be questioned." Milo added.

The skater scoffed at that and said, "Dude! Mo-Mo, if anyone tries to diss your cred, give me their names, number and social media names and I'll diss on their cred."

"Thanks, Mickey...but it's cool." Morrison said, easing the young skater lynx down.

Just as the boys continued talking, Morrison received a text on his phone from Meena that reads 'Hey, meet me at the Moon Theater ASAP' and he blinked his eyes at this and said, "Yo, dudes...I gotta jet. Meena wants to meet me somewhere."

"Oh yeah! See what she wants, man." Marshall said, in a very teasing voice.

Morrison rolls his eyes in amusement as he picks up his board, then drops it, gets on it and rolls out of the skate park on his way to the Moon Theater. A million and one questions ran through his mind as to what Meena wants to see him for, but whatever the case is, he was sure gonna find out and this is a good way to see Meena anyways.

* * *

Next up, Morrison goes to the Moon Theater and meets Meena's theater family!


	8. Visiting the Moon Theater

And Meena shows Morrison her second home; the Moon Theater

* * *

Chapter 8: Visit to the Moon Theater

Meena was sitting on the front of the theater just waiting for Morrison to come by and giving his amazing musical abilities, he could definitely fit in there and mayeb even consider working there, though it would be a challenge for him to juggle home, school and track. She blinked her eyes as she stood there for a bit and it wasn't long until he heard a distant skateboard rolling through the streets and she's immediately familiarized with that sound anywhere, which made her smile and when she turned around, there he was coming in.

Morrison skated by and then saw Meena coming in and became mesmerized by her looks that he got a little distracted and soon enough, Meena exclaimed, "Look out!"

Morrison turned around and found himself nearly face to face with a black truck and he immediately jumped out of his board and did an aerial backflip and landed on the hood of the truck to stop himself and panted heavily as he sat there for a while. The skateboard rolled underneath the truck and Morrison gently got out of the truck and landed on the ground with his skateboard in hand.

Meena was both worried for her friend and impressed by that stunt move he did and she asked, "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Morrison replied, dusting himself off.

Morrison took one look at the truck and hoped that he didn't cause some damage in it and thankfully, there wasn't any and that made him breathe a huge sigh of relief and he walked over to Meena and she said, "That was really impressive with what you did."

"I'm surprised myself. I didn't think I could do that." Morrison added.

Meena then led Morrison into the theater and once he stepped inside, Morrison was just mesmerized by how it all looks and couldn't take his eyes off of the extraordinary look and setting of it and he said, "This is amazing."

"It is. Wait until you see the auditorium." Meena responded.

"The auditorium?" asked Morrison.

Meena opened the doors and what came before Morrison's eyes floored him with so much overwhelming amazement from the size of the seats and the stage. He was completely blown away by the mega size of it and could imagine standing on the stage performing there if he wanted to. Meena looked at Morrison and from his enthusiastic reactions to it, she could tell that he liked the atmosphere very much and gave it a chance to soak in.

"Wished I could've brought my instruments here." Morrison said.

"You like it?" asked Meena.

"Like it? Are you serious? This is amazing!" Morrison said, with bursting enthusiasm.

Meena chuckled at this and let out a little smile and Morrison just looked around the whole auditorium and walks to the stage and as he stood there, he was mesmerized by the looks of it and he just felt like he could stand there and perform his heart out, but only when there's no one there, which is always what he likes because this way, no one would judge him.

"You look good on the stage." Meena called out.

"Thanks." Morrison replied.

As Morrison just looked up at the stage and a little curious about the backstage aspects, he wanders around backstage and sees everything that goes on; dressing rooms, rehearsal rooms and an upstairs where piano lessons are taken. Completely impressed by everything he's seen, he was just excited to tell Meena this, but by the time he headed back to the main stage, it was empty.

Morrison just felt like he's standing on his element when he's by himself on stage and soon enough, his instinctive performing side just took over and felt the need to release something out of him and just out of the blue...

 _I don't ever ask you_

 _where you've been_

 _and I don't feel the need to know_

 _who you're with_

 _I can't even think straight_

 _but I can tell_

 _that you were just with him_

 _and I'll still be your fool..._

 _I'm a fool for you..._

 _Just a little bit of your heart_

 _Just a little bit of your heart_

 _Just a little bit of your heart is all I want_

 _Just a little bit of your heart_

 _Just a little bit of your heart_

 _Just a little bit is all I'm asking for..._

 _I don't ever tell you_

 _how I really feel_

 _cuz I can't find the words to_

 _say what I mean_

 _And nothing's ever easy_

 _that's what they say_

 _I know I'm not your only_

 _but I'll still be your fool..._

 _cuz I'm a fool for you_

 _Just a little bit of your heart_

 _Just a little bit of your heart_

 _Just a little bit of your heart is all I want_

 _Just a little bit of your heart_

 _Just a little bit of your heart_

 _Just a little bit is all I'm asking for..._

 _Just a little bit..._

Morrison's passionate voice echoed throughout parts of the Moon Theater, leading all the way to Buster Moon's office where he heard someone singing from a further distance. He had thought it might've been one of the regular theater singers doing some practice, but for some reason, it sounded like someone new. Curious, he hopped out of his seat and headed out of the office to find where it came from.

 _I know I'm not your only_

 _but at least I'm one_

 _I had a little love_

 _but it's better than none_

 _Oh...babe...!_

Morrison's humongous passion instantly felt like he's releasing everything and gave it his all and just imagined that it was Meena sitting there, listening to him and it lead to him finishing belting the end of the song, unaware that Buster Moon walked into the theater just listening to Morrison singing and was instantly blown away by it and Meena came back and just heard Morrison sing his heart out.

 _Just a little bit of your heart_

 _Just a little bit of your heart_

 _Just a little bit of your heart is all I want_

 _Just a little bit of your heart_

 _Just a little bit of your heart_

 _Just a little bit is all I'm asking for_

 _Just a little bit of your heart_

 _Just a little bit of your heart_

 _Just a little bit of your heart is all I want_

 _Just a little bit of your heart_

 _Just a little bit of your heart_

 _Just a little bit is all I'm asking for..._

After a second, Morrison stood on his knees for a second, just feeling the rush of every emotion that ever came out of him and he stood up for a while and his eyes met with 7 others standing there, clapping for him, which stunned him completely. He had no idea that someone was actually listening to him and Buster was completely fascinated by this and said, "That was amazing! Very amazing, indeed."

Morrison scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment and said, "I'm sorry, I...I didn't think anyone was here."

"Kid, you're astounding." Buster added.

Meena chuckled at this and Morrison looked at her for a second and said, "Did you tell anyone?"

"No. I saw Mr. Moon coming to the auditorium and I followed to see what was going on and that's when I saw you sing and then Ash, Rosita, Gunter, Mike and Johnny came in afterwards...and here we are." Meena added.

"Oh, man...this is so awkward. Usually, whenever I see a stage or any musical instrument, I can't help myself. I just love music. But sometimes, I get a little bit leery when it comes to anyone watching me sing because they might think it's uncool for someone like me to sing." Morrison added.

"Says who? You totally rocked it." Ash exclaimed.

"Um...thanks. You know, I've seen some of you guys on the talent show on TV weeks ago and I'm feeling so unworthy standing in front of all of you." Morrison answered.

"Hey, don't feel that way. You've got skills." Mike answered.

"You know this guy, Meena?" asked Rosita.

"Yeah, we go to school together." Meena answered.

"Really?" asked Ash.

"Yep, this is Morrison. Morrison, this is Ash, Rosita, Gunter, Mike, Johnny and Mr. Moon." Meena said, introducing everyone to Morrison.

"How'd you like the Moon Theater?" asked Johnny.

"I'm loving it already." Morrison replied, with enthusiasm.

* * *

The grand tour of the Moon Theater...next! Also, that was 'Just a Little Bit of Your Heart' from Ariana Grande! Don't own any parts!


	9. Visitor Turned New Member

Morrison gets a feel for the atmosphere for the Moon Theater as he's exposed to many facets of his true love! Not Meena, of course...but music.

* * *

Chapter 9: Visitor Turned New Member

Soon afterwards, Buster gives Morrison a tour of the Moon Theater from the main stage to the back stage where everyone rehearses and practices on each performances they got planned and Buster even takes the cheetah the behind the scenes on what makes an amazing show; from the lightning, sounds and atmosphere that goes around with it. He then takes Morrison upstairs to this one room close to his office where piano lessons are taken and seeks Johnny playing a few keys in that room.

"As you can see from here. Johnny's been taking some lessons when he first started off here and he's completely becoming a pro here. Have you had any experiences with the piano before?" asked Buster.

"Yes, I've had some piano lessons when I was 6 from one of my mom's ex-high school boyfriends, who's a master at classically trained piano." Morrison replied.

That news made Johnny's piano ivories go off course and just turned around and asked, "Really?"

"Yep. When I told her who was my piano teacher, she was completely stunned that someone she used to date was my piano teacher. Kinda weird how life plays out. Aside from that, never stopped playing and practicing it ever since." Morrison answered.

Buster was still mesmerized by the fact that Morrison's first piano teacher was an ex-boyfriend of his mom's back in high school, but eventually snapped out of it as Ms. Crawley called him and got back to reality and said, "Sorry, just lost my train of thought here. Are you good with many other instruments?"

"I'm good at guitar, drums, ukelele, banjo, violin, flute, harmonica, cello and a drum machine too." Morrison replied.

"Wow...you're good at all those?" asked Buster, astonished.

"I've had music class and attended summer music camp when I was a kid and picked up a couple of things I learned when I was there. Often times, I would sneak into the music room when there's no classes held there before the bell rings and even wait for the school bus to come." Morrison added.

"Really?" asked Johnny.

"Yep." Morrison answered.

"Very interesting." Buster added.

"It's actually where I met Meena for the first time there. We've been camp friends and neighbors since then." Morrison stated.

Johnny and Buster were surprised that that's how he met Meena and Johnny asked, "Really? Is that true?"

Meena popped in and overheard the conversation and she replied, "Yep. That's where we first met when we were kids. He's got an amazing voice and has an ear for music."

"So does she, but her stage fright was so severe that she couldn't bring herself to perform in front of people at that time." Morrison explained.

Meena nodded her head in agreement knowing that that was the case and Johnny said, "Amazing...and you've been friends since?"

"Yep! And neighbors. My family had just moved in this town at the time while I was at that camp and we've been good friends by then." Morrison answered, not bringing up the fact that he has a crush on her.

* * *

A couple of minutes later, Buster discussed with Morrison about how everything works at the Moon Theater when it comes to working hard, showcasing talent and show passion in what they love and once Morrison takes in everything from what he said, it only fuels his need to surround himself with talent everyday. However, there is one little issue; track.

"Now, if you have any questions, feel free to ask." Buster replied.

"Um...well, I'm hoping that it won't interfere too much with school, home and track. Track running is my sport and I've had a respect for it because speed is my nature. But lately, I've been more about music lately and it's tough to balance music and track racing. So...is there any certain way that I can maintain coming here and still do track?" asked Morrison.

"How many days do you do track practice?" asked Buster.

"Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. Matter of fact, I got a game coming this Friday and I think my intentions are to just move on from the sport for good. Not because I'm tired of it, but because I just want to focus on something bigger than myself." Morrison replied.

"Wow...you're really wise beyond your years." Buster added.

"I try not to." Morrison stated.

5 minutes later, Morrison walked out of the Moon Theater completely energized and happy and as he's heading abck home, Meena stops him for a second and she said, "So...what do you think?"

"It's awesome. Thanks for bringing me here. It's probably one of the best moments I've ever had." Morrison said, happily.

"I'm glad. Think you can come by more often?" asked Meena, placing her hand on Morrison's shoulder.

That feeling completely brought him to a much more surprised state because his crush was actually touching his shoulder and he just kept his cool for a second and looked at Meena and answered, "We'll see what happens."

"Fair enough." Meena replied.

Morrison chuckled softly and said, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay, bye!" Meena exclaimed.

Morrison heads on back home with his skateboard and after that moment of being in the Moon Theater, he felt like he has found a place where he can not only see Meena a lot more, but that he's able to fit in with what he loves doing the most. Of course it'll be a little difficult to juggle school, track and home, he's one step closer to go through his passion.

Who knows? One last look at the theater and he said to himself, "Maybe I'll make a few visits there."


	10. Wrath of Trevor's Envy

On this chapter, we start to get to unveil the real Trevor; as he's his charismatic, chill and cool dude to get all the attention, but soon, we start to see his facade start to crack.

* * *

Chapter 10: Wrath of Trevor's Envy

The next day at school, Morrison was sitting down with his friends during lunchtime, just talking and goofing with each other as they ate and Morrison kept talking about how he beat out his brother's high score before having been beat by his brother to outscoring his own high score and how he took it all in stride and one of his friends said, "What, no re-match?"

"Nah, I'll let him have his moment. I'm not one to be a sore loser at all, thinking, 'Man, I shoulda won that game'. I'm sure that he'll ask for another re-match soon, but for now, I'll let him bask in the glory." Morrison replied.

"Yeah, you're lucky. My big brother beats me at everything, man. He says he's gonna use those advantages while he's at college. Unless they have a course and a degree in whooping my tail, he'll graduate with top honors." Milo said, scoffing.

"How is he, by the way?" asked Morrison.

"Pretty good. He's adjusting to college life more, plus he's always one to head home for the weekend to get some grub. I think your brother and my brother make good roommates, aside from the fact that they always annoy us." Milo added.

"That's true." Morrison agreed, while eating his pizza.

Soon enough, by Morrison's surprise, he saw Johnny walking across the cafeteria and he was stunned to see him walking in the cafeteria because he had just met him at the Moon Theater yesterday and now that he's in the same school and him and Meena. He turns around and said, "Hey, Johnny!"

Johnny stops and turns around to see Morrison there, which became a surprise to him as well and he said, "Morrison! You go to school here too?"

"Yeah, man. We got an extra seat here if you wanna join us." Morrison replied.

Most of his friends were surprised by this, but once they recognized who he was, they thought it was super-cool to have someone who was performing on TV to sit with everyone at their table and Johnny said, "Sure."

Johnny walks over to the table and sits down with the rest of the crew and Morrison introduces him to everyone, "Johnny, these are my buds; Milo, Caden, Bryce, Kenny, Zak, Shawn and Kevin."

"What up, man?" asked Kenny, giving him a nod.

"Johnny and I already knew each other because me, Bryce and Shawn have the same class together." Kevin explained.

Johnny nods his head in agreement and said, "We've seen each other through class and in the hallways."

"And he's an amazing volleyball player. I don't know how you stay in shape when you spike the ball, but you got some very boss muscles." Bryce added.

"I think I got it from my dad. He always has a punching bag in the garage, so..." Johnny added.

Just then, in comes Ash joining in with the rest of the crew, much to Morrison's surprise and he said, "Hey, what brings you by?"

"I saw Johnny coming by and sitting with you guys, so I thought I'd join in." Ash replied.

Bryce looked up at Ash and he completely is enamored over her and he lets out a dreamy sigh as he looked at her, trying not to get too close to her quills and he said, "Hey, Ash."

"Hey, Bryce." Ash replied.

"How'd you guys meet?" asked Milo.

Morrison blinked his eyes and responded, "Well, Meena invited me over to the Moon Theater and I came out of the skate park and as I went there, I saw here there for a while...got distracted and I saw this big black truck coming my way, so I hopped out of my board and landed on the front part of the hood."

"That was my dad's truck." Johnny pointed out.

Shock had coarsed through Morrison and he looked at Johnny with a little bit of nervousness and replied, "That's your truck?"

"Yeah. I didn't see a dent in there." Johnny answered.

Morrison sighed in relief after this and felt like a weight had lifted off of his shoulders knowing that there was no damage done and he continued with the story, "So...Meena brought me in there and went to this auditorium and it was huge. Even huger than the school auditorium. So I stood on the stage and I might've sang a little bit and I had no idea that it would attract a following...and that's where I met Johnny, Ash and the rest of the crew."

"Think we'll see you around the Moon Theater often?" asked Johnny.

"The jury's still out there. With school, home and track, I don't want to have too much things on my plate and unable to balance everything." Morrison answered.

"Dude, if you're gonna go for it, go for it. Besides, you said you wanted to get out of track anyways, so now's the perfect time for it." Milo responded.

"Are you sure about it? I don't want the coach think that I'm quitting the sport." Morrison answered.

"If I were you, I'd definitely consider taking the chance. You got talent, man. You gotta stop selling yourself short." Kenny responded.

Morrison knew that they were right about it and plus it would mean he wouldn't have to deal with Trevor being in the same team and he is and he said, "I think I'll sit down with the coach before the game and tell him that I'll have to withdraw from being in the game."

"Cool, man." Bryce added.

Meanwhile, Meena looks up and sees Johnny and Ash sitting on Morrison's table and while she enjoyed being in Trevor's company, she figured that it'd be better if he sat there for a while and once Trevor noticed that she was getting up, he asked, "Where you going?"

"Well...I want to sit with Morrison for a while." Meena answered.

That set Trevor by surprise and he seemed a little shocked by this and asked, "That cheetah? I thought we were gonna sit today."

"I know, but I think I want to sit on another table. We'll sit together tomorrow though." Meena replied, with a smile.

Trevor played it off like everything's cool and he said, "Sure, whatever makes you happy."

"Thanks." Meena said, with a giggle as he brought her lunch over to Morrison's table and sits between Morrison and Johnny.

"Glad you're here to join us." Bryce said, smiling.

"Thought you'd be with your boy-toy." Milo responded.

Meena giggled at this and she responded, "Well, I saw Johnny and Ash sitting with you guys and I thought maybe I'd come here and have lunch with you guys."

That definitely meant a lot to Morrison and he said, "You're welcome anywhere with us. Is Trevor cool with this?"

"He is. I hope he's not too upset." Meena responded.

But, oh...how wrong she would be as Trevor begrudingly looks on as Meena eats and talks with Morrison and his crew and he started to become increasingly jealous because no other girl would ever change plans to sit with him and millions of thoughts were racing through him as he starts thinking that Meena and Morrison might have something together and he'll be determined to take both of them down.

"Have your little moment, Meena...because you will be mine. Mine and no one else's." Trevor said, snorting angrily.

* * *

The real Trevor is shown...how long will Meena realize it? You'll have to see!


	11. The Real Trevor

And now we see Trevor go from somewhat snobbish, braggadocious dude to our main antagonist; at least towards Meena and Morrison...which you'll see later on, but for now, this is how Meena's 'school crush' turns out to be different that what she had expected...

* * *

Chapter 11: The Real Trevor

It was almost time for school to be over and Meena was definitely looking forward to see Morrison at the Moon Theater soon and also looking forward to have lunch with Trevor tomorrow since she took a rain check on it as she sat with Morrison alongside Johnny and Ash and spent lunch with them. The more she thought about Trevor, the more she began thinking how perfect he is; perfect looks, voice, muscles and the way he compliments her. She even looked at her notebooks with the drawings 'Meena + Trevor' with little hearts around them and also one that says 'Meena & Trevor; together forever'. She lets out a very happy sigh as he grabs her books and couldn't think that Trevor could do no wrong.

Soon afterwards, she closed her locker and in comes Trevor with a very different look on his face, which surprised Meena. Once she looked at him, she lets out a huge sigh of relief as she puts her hand on her chest and said, "Oh, you almost scared me, Trevor."

"You should be." Trevor replied, coldly.

Suddenly, the tone of his voice seemed to concern Meena and figured something was wrong with him; like maybe he had a bad mood or something and asked, "Trevor, is there something wrong? Like, did you fail a test or something?"

"No...I...did...not." Trevor enunciated, with the last part that he slammed his hoof on a locker.

That started to intimidate Meena a little bit as she didn't know what was going on with him or what has come over him and thought that wasn't the Trevor she knew and asked, "Then...what is it?"

"Oh, you know what I mean. Why are you hanging around with Morrison? Do you have something going on with him?" asked Trevor, very direct.

She didn't even know what to make of it and why he would ask her something like that and replied, "He's my neighbor. There's nothing going on between us."

"You'd better not! And keep it that way! You belong with me, you understand? Me and only me and nobody else." Trevor responded, getting in her face.

It sounded as if Trevor is getting remotely jealous and possessive with her and that was something that was completely out of character for him and she said, "Okay, okay...whatever you say."

"Good. And if Morrison comes within a mile radius and I see it, I'll tackle him down at track on Friday, so you'd better not get close to him! And if you do, I'll see to it that I'm gonna turn the whole school against you. You may have a pretty little singing voice and all that, but you'll be singing an entirely different tune if you don't cut Morrison off. Got it?!" Trevor exclaimed.

Now Meena's became very frightened by this shift in change of Trevor and she whimpered, "Got it."

"Got it, SIR!" Trevor yelled.

"Yes, sir!" Meena exclaimed.

Trevor chuckled softly at this while still keeping his sinister smirk intact and said, "Much better. See you at lunch tomorrow, babe. Wear something tight."

He then walks out and puts his hood on with a very soft chuckle and said, "All according to plan..."

But what both Meena and Trevor didn't know is that Morrison actually saw the whole thing unfold from upstairs and he knew for a fact that this is the real Trevor showing his true colors and showing it right in front of Meena. He doesn't know how or why he intimidated her, but he knew that he would do whatever it takes to make sure that Meena is protected without getting caught by Trevor's wrath.

Meanwhile, Meena just stood there completely frozen and shaken by how this guy who's considered capturing and stealing her heart would become this possessive, nonsensical angry version of himself and suddenly, she has second thoughts about eating lunch with him tomorrow and she just grabbed her books and just walked away silently. As she was walking out, Morrison slowly walked downstairs, watching Meena walk out so sad and fearful and he just felt sad that there's a possible chance that there might be nothing he can do about it or help her in some way. He lets out a very deep sigh and just stood there, uncertain.

"Oh, Meena..." Morrison sighed, sadly for his crush.

Later that evening

Morrison was in his room with a tank top and basketball shorts just playing guitar and just expressing his feelings about what he had just witnessed at school and it seems as though Meena was deeply in his thoughts a lot and the fact that Trevor forced her to see the second-star track star and not the cheetah himself is truly disheartening and it made him concerned for her even more.

Just then, he looks out the window and sees Meena looking at the window and he opens it and asked, "You okay?"

Meena tried to play it off like it was cool, but he's not fooled. On the inside, he already knew what had happened and she said, with a fake smile, "Yeah, everything's handy-dandy. You know, me and Trevor are gonna have lunch tomorrow. He's just the very perfect person to have lunch with."

"Meena...I saw what happened today." Morrison replied.

That was enough to make Meena stop and suddenly, the walls came down and she lets out a sad sigh and she said, "How could he say those things to me? I thought he was kind and sweet and funny and now he's...he's..."

"A total jerk?" asked Morrison.

"Well, yeah." Meena replied.

Morrison lets out a huge sigh and said, "Well...that's what my mom calls the 'two-face card'. The one side is this peppy, upbeat, positive, charming, cool and funny person that everyone likes to hang out, be with and hope that they'll have an amazing future and the other side is much darker, more recluse, jealous, possessive, obsessive and completely controlling. Like their mentality of 'you're mine and no one else's' kind of thing."

"What should I do?" asked Meena.

"I think you should just break it off with him, personally. But...I'm not one to tell you what you should or shouldn't do. One thing's for sure though; always know that I got your back." Morrison added.

Knowing that Morrison is looking out for her best interest makes her feel appreciated and she said, "You're such a good friend, Morrison."

"Hey, what are neighbors for? And besides, if he does something to turn the school against you, my skater friends and I will find a way to use something against him. Trust me, from being his teammate on the team, he's anything put a team player." Morrison answered.

"What is Trevor really like when you're on the same track team?" asked Meena.

Giving the history of rivalry between the two, he wasn't so sure if Meena wants to know the full story in order to dash any dreamy fantasies about Trevor, but at this stage, she has to know somehow and asked, "How much do you wanna know?"

* * *

You can only imagine what Morrison has to say about Trevor's history. But we'll see him in a much more eviler state later on...stick around!


	12. I Already Know

You can only imagine everything Meena had just experienced with Trevor, now that he's become already a villain...so now Morrison's looking out for her best interest, but he'll soon learn that there's more to Trevor than they'll realize...

* * *

Chapter 12: I Already Know

"And you actually saw him say that to her?" asked Milo.

"Yep, every single word, forbidding her to hang around with me, claiming that he's hers and nobody else's." Morrison replied, as he told his friends on the way to school.

"Ooooh...that's so low, man." Bryce replied, growling.

Kevin nodded his head in agreement and said, "I knew something was off with him. I knew from the minute he walked into that school that there's a big stink about him."

"How can you tell?" asked Morrison.

"His attitude, man. Like, he thinks he's better than anyone else and can get like any girl he wants like he owns her like he's their personal love slave or whatever." Kevin replied.

Morrison raised his eyebrows and asked, "And you know this because...?"

"Because my big sister used to have a big crush on her in her freshman year and he played the picture-perfect all student so well, but when she tries to hang out with her friends and has another crush on a guy, that's where he toes the line. He threatened to expose her embarrassing pictures and secret from her journal on social media if she didn't stop seeing him. And get this, the other guy she had a crush on is one of Trevor's former teammates." Kevin replied.

"What?" they all asked.

"Yep. Very true. Trevor thinks that every girl should bow down to his will and if she refuses, she suffers the consequences." Kevin answered.

"What are the consequences?" asked Milo.

"Like, bad things. He has a quick temper and can easily go from 0 to 60 in a minute. Also, he thinks that my sister crushing on one of his teammates is gonna cause his reputation to be tarnished." Kevin replied.

"Something's wrong with the guy." Shawn added.

"Mmm." Kevin replied.

Morrison sighed at this and he said, "I know for a fact that Trevor's gonna forbid me from seeing Meena as he forbade her from seeing me."

"You don't have to do what he says. Besides, she's your crush. You've known her longer than any of us have, even Trevor. I bet he doesn't even know what her favorite song or singer/band is." Milo stated.

"Pirahna and Baboon 5." Morrison answered.

"See? See? Exactly my point!" Milo exclaimed.

"So...Mo, when are you gonna show us the Moon Theater, man? We wanna see what it's like there." Shawn said.

"Yeah, if it's as good as they say it is, we should check it out so that when you perform, we'll be cheering you on and say 'that's my friend'! It'd be so awesome!" Zak exclaimed.

"Yeah, man! We might even start a punk band!" Caden responded.

"Guys, guys, guys...chill. I'll show you the Moon Theater soon. I plan on going there after school today. I'll text you guys afterwards, but you'll have to come with me." Morrison replied.

"Oh, we'll be there, man. And maybe you and Meena can get a little smooching action." Bryce said, with a very boastful howl.

Morrison sighed at this and said, "Must you howl when there's a girl involved?"

"Can't help it, man! Wolf instinct." Bryce replied.

As soon as they all got to school, Morrison walked through the halls and into the men's room to groom his hair. It seemed a little spiky, so he tried to make it more presentable as possible for the rest of the day and then, he felt a very unpleasant prescence coming in and when he looked in the mirror, he noticed Trevor was standing behind him and he said, "What's up, Trevor?"

"You tell me? Why are you around my woman?" asked Trevor, very demanding.

"Listen, Meena and I are neighbors, there's nothing going on and that's it. I've heard about what you said to her yesterday and there's nothing you can say or do to prevent me from hanging out with her." Morrison replied.

"You listen to me. I own her now." Trevor exclaimed.

"Says who?" asked Morrison.

"Says me! And if you ever get anywhere near my girl, we're gonna have some problems! And believe you me, it will not be taken lightly! You don't know her like I do!" Trevor exclaimed, getting in Morrison's face.

"Dude...you don't know me. Meena and I are neighbors." Morrison replied.

"LIAR! I know the game; you say she's a neighbor and then you'll be kissing her and claim her to be yours. I'm not gonna let that happen and she better not get anywhere near you!" Trevor exclaimed.

Morrison knew that he was gonna be dealing with a very aggressive possessive teammate and he said, "This may be my last time running track."

He then walks away from the men's room and he takes a deep breath and moved forward, but one of his friends already heard about what just occurred from the hallway and he said to himself, "Trevor...you just stepped yourself into the danger zone."

* * *

How long will this go on? You'll have to find out soon!


	13. Training Day Again

And here's where things go to a head between Morrison and Trevor and where Trevor's fall from grace begins...

* * *

Chapter 13: Training Day...Again

Later that morning, Morrison headed to the track field to do some last minute exercise and stretching before training could commence. He figured that it would be a matter of time before he decides to withdraw from the sport because he felt like he was gonna overwork himself if he balances school, home, social life and time to spend at the Moon Theater. He can recall a certain moment when he overworked himself nearly to death when he tried to juggle them, in addition to music class before heading to the Moon Theater and it resulted in him being left out for at least 4 months into the season. Although it'll be difficult for him to walk away from track, he knows that it's time for a better calling.

And the minute he sees Trevor coming in, flirting with three other girls, he knew that that would also be a bonus reason for withdrawing from his presence so that he wouldn't have to hear Trevor boast about how awesome and hot he looks and is and the fact that he's pushed Meena to the side for now makes him a little aggravated. He's not really looking for competition over Meena, but all he wants to do is just make sure that Meena doesn't get too crushed.

But that would be proven a challenge giving that he witnessed showing his true colors towards Meena and forced her to avoid Morrison in order to get close to him and he has no idea what his motives are in store. He hears some of the girls giggling as Trevor flexes his muscles to show off and to brag about how he's the number one athletic star of the team, but for some reason...one of the girls took a sudden interest to Morrison.

She looks at Morrison for a second and couldn't keep her eyes off of him for a second and then Trevor notices this and blocks her way so that she can focus on him instead, but that plan had gone awry when Morrison walks towards the track, getting himself ready to train. Some of the girls walk away, but the one girl couldn't stop staring at Morrison and that infuriated Trevor more than anything, so he walks over to confront the teen cheetah and said, "Hey, why was she staring at you?"

"Who, Meena? I didn't see her come in." Morrison replied, looking around.

"Not her! The other girl that I was talking to. She kept staring at YOU!" Trevor exclaimed, pointing his finger at him.

"Who was staring at me?" asked Morrison, confusedly.

Trevor was flabbergasted that Morrison could be that unaware and he just spluttered, trying to come up with a good accusation towards him and he pointed to the girl that's staring at her now and she waved at him and it was the first time he's seen her and said, "I've never seen her before."

"But apparently, she saw you! And you didn't pay attention?! Man, you must be really dumb at striking out girls." Trevor groaned, angrily.

Morrison rolled his eyes and didn't want to deal with the drama, so he just walked off, but then he turned back and asked, "Did she say anything about me?"

"Just...stay off of my game." Trevor snorted, breathing heavily as he failed to make a comeback directed at the cheetah.

Several minutes later, the rest of the team were ready to do some more training and Morrison was razor-sharped focus, yet he wanted to end his training day on a high note to sort of say farewell to his time in track. Trevor never kept his eyes off of Morrison, not only as his competitor opponent, but as his personal enemy in terms of Meena. Once the gun fired, Morrison was off and running amongst his teammates and Trevor wanted to take a swing at Morrison and as Morrison was racing, Trevor went a few feet ahead and slammed him to the ground, with the hopes that Morrison will react and be forced to fight him.

Morrison was thrown off to the ground, but knew what Trevor wanted him to do; fight him. But he was light on his feet, shook it off and kept on running back on track and he kept running, but every second, he just got ran over and pummeled by Trevor and for some reason, this isn't a game. This is personal. Morrison kept going back to the track field to keep doing his training, but when Trevor goes after him a second time, Morrison moves out of the way faster and kept going and going and going until Trevor pummels him down before Morrison reaches his last lap.

The coach blew the whistle on this and everyone stopped to take a breath while Morrison gets himself up and walks over to Trevor and asked, "Dude, what's your problem?"

"Listen, I'm not gonna let some hot-shot take away everything that's popular to me! You got that? You'd best better learn how to stay out of my way and you ened to apologize to me for throwing off my game!" Trevor exclaimed.

"I'm not apologizing for something I didn't do!" Morrison exclaimed.

"Break it up! Trevor, I saw what you did there to throw Morrison off! Consider yourself benched for the rest of season!" the coach exclaimed.

That was shocking to hear from Trevor that he's getting benched from the game and exclaimed, "Are you serious? I'm the best thing that ever happened to this team!"

"You should've thought of that before you were starting a fight with Morrison! You as a star athlete should know better than that!" the coach exclaimed.

Trevor completely felt like Morrison was to blame for this whole thing and he snorted angrily as he walked out of there, raising a middle finger to the world and the coach turned to Morrison and asked, "You all right, Morrison?"

"Yes, coach. I'm just...it just caught me off-guard a little." Morrison answered.

"I'd like to talk to you in my office for a second." the coach added.

Morrison had no idea what's in store, but knowing that he's gonna withdraw from the sport would become a good reason and he felt like the time is right about now and he said, "Yes, sir."

* * *

This is it...will Morrison drop the ball on the coach? How will he react? Stay tuned to find out!


	14. Stepping Down from Track

And the moment we're anxious to hear...how will the coach react?

* * *

Chapter 14: Stepping Down from Track

Morrison followed the coach over to his office and he took a seat as he was waiting to see what's going on and he just twiddled his thumbs, unsure about what might come out soon, but he knew that the time would come to step down from the game, but surprisingly enough, Trevor isn't the reason to step down from it. The coach sits down, face to face with one of his star athletes and he looks at Morrison, who wears a very worried look on his face and he said, "Do not worry, Morrison. You're not in any trouble whatsoever."

But that was the least of his worries now and he took a deep breath and only said, "That's good to hear."

"Now, I know you didn't start the tussle while practicing. I do not know what is the deal with Trevor or what's going on between you two, but I just need to know what is going on in your mind after all this had happened." the coach answered.

Morrison took a deep breath, looked at the coach in the eye and responded, "I didn't know what was Trevor's problem with me. I couldn't even respond quickly or react because I had to get back to practice and keep focus on completing the task. I think has something personal against me and I'm still not sure why. So...the only thing in my mind was 'what's gotten into him?' Like, what have I done that made him act that way towards me."

"Well, don't worry...I'll have a long talk with him after this. And don't worry, he's cut from the games and the team. We still need you around for the big game on Friday." the coach added.

Morrison nodded his head in agreement and then, he paused for a second and with a look into his eye, he said...

"That's what I need to talk to you about, coach."

The coach was quickly surprised to hear that come out of Morrison's mouth and said, "What about it?"

"Well...I've been giving it some thought and while I am looking forward to the game, it may be my last competition and training for track." Morrison replied, with a hint of anxiety in his voice during the last part.

That seemed to stun the coach for a while, but at the same time, he wasn't quite surprised by Morrison's sudden decision. He just didn't expect it to come inadvertedly a few days before the game. He sat back down lower and responded, "Explain why."

He wasn't sure exactly how to explain it, but once he did explain his reasons for doing so because he wanted to focus more on what he loves to do-which is music or whatever interests that suited him-the coach listened to every single word and had been aware of the young cheetah prodigy's music abilities and after Morrison said his piece, the coach said, "That's a good reason."

"There's a part of me that really wanted to keep doing track, but there's another part that maybe I should pursue something better, something bigger than myself. And also because I wasn't sure if I can balance music and track along with being social, schoolwork and home life. It'd be too much for me and I would totally fall apart. So...in order to prioritize everything, I have to let go of one thing and that one was track. I'm very grateful for the time I've been given for the opportunity since freshman year, but it's time to sort of move on and go to the next phase." Morrison responded.

"Well...I'm sure that whatever you find, you have my support and our team's support." the coach added.

That immediately lifted up Morrison's burden right there and then as he was free from putting more pressure on himself to raise more stress had he remained in track and he said, "Thank you, coach."

"You've always been a team player on and off the track field and a very humble, hard-working young man. I am proud to have been your coach." the coach stated.

"And I'm grateful for everything you taught me." Morrison responded.

With a smile, Morrison leaves the coach's office with a very happier light, but turned back and said, "I'll be there for my last game and I'll go out on a high note."

"I'll look forward to that!" the coach agreed.

Then, as he made his exit, he was surprised to see some of his teammates minus Trevor standing there and most of them had bittersweet feelings about Morrison's departure from track and one of his teammates said, "We heard everything, Mo."

"You have?" asked Morrison, a little nervous.

"Yeah. We're gonna miss having you on the team; always there to keep our heads up high whether we win or lose, give us our ritual cheers before every game and meditation before, during and after the game...even though my butt was sore throughout." one teammate added.

"I'll miss it too. But you guys will see me at school everyday. We still have some of the same class." Morrison responded.

"Yeah, but it just won't be the same." another teammate added.

"Look, guys...my leaving isn't gonna break us all up as friends. Nor will it affect the team. Win or lose, I'll always be your biggest supporter." Morrison added, with much calming reassurance.

"Will you still be at the game?" asked one teammate.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." Morrison said, happily.

All friends places their paws on each other's as a sign of unity and Morrison said, "Victory on three. One, two, three..."

"VICTORY!" they all exclaimed, raising their paws in the air.

That alone gave the team the confidence that after this game, they'll continue on being friends and will still be a team minus Morrison and one of them said, "You make a better leader of the team than Trevor."

"Yeah, all he does is focus on himself and how awesome he looks to get girls." another teammate agreed.

Morrison snorted at the irony of the whole thing and said, "Ashton, last I recalled...isn't that what got you into track in the first place?"

"Yeah...and it worked out well for me." Ashton replied.

They all laughed and afterwards, Morrison looked at one young lion and asked, "Isaac, will you take my place as the glue for the team?"

Isaac was surprised to hear this and asked, "Me? I could never be a great leader like you."

"Dude, you don't have to be the big boss to lead to greatness. The secret to being a great leader of the team is to be a team player. Everybody has a chance to shine rather than just one person."

"That's always been a mainstay for us. I may not be like you, but I'll try." Isaac added.

"Awesome." Morrison replied.

Soon afterwards, the bell rings and the friends left the back part of the gym and headed for the hallways for the next class and as Morrison walks down the hallway, he saw Meena walking past him and from the look on her face and the way she walks with her head lowered, he knew that there was something going on and 'Trevor' starts blinking on the inside of his mind, thinking he might have done something.

"Hey, Meena." Morrison called out.

When Meena rose her head and faced Morrison, he was blindsided by how crestfallen she had looked and asked, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. It's just...Trevor's just asking me to be his girlfriend and no one else's. I have to meet him for lunch." Meena replied, before walking off.

That proves to Morrison that Trevor's got Meena under his spell, but not in the way she had wanted.

* * *

So Morrison's taking a bow from track, but there's more challenges on the horizon; how will Meena handle going to lunch with Trevor? You'll see next!


	15. Not the Lunch Date in Mind

And here's where this so-called 'lunch date' between Meena and Trevor went down...and both are about to have an audience that exposes Trevor's dark side.

* * *

Chapter 15: Not the Lunch Date in Mind

At lunch, Morrison and his friends were just talking while eating as usual and of course, joined by Ash and Johnny at the same time and Morrison wanted to get to know a little more about Johnny and Ash and from what Morrison heard about Johnny, he was surprised to learn that Johnny wanted to get out of the criminal business his dad wanted him to do and just forge his path onto music more and that really amazed Morrison and Milo the most. Milo spoke out about it by saying, "I'm surprised that you're not a part of that because most kids would fall into a life of crime and the parents would totally freak out about it, but it was reversed."

"Yeah, well...that's the story of my life." Johnny added.

"Interesting. And Ash, your boyfriend stepped out on you?" asked Shawn.

"Yep. I went home from rehearsal one day and I saw Lance singing with another girl. I was devastated to see that, but at the same time...it was just a blessing because I had to step out on my own. Lance thinks that I'm holding him back and that I can't write my own songs, but really...he held me back to be the front. I think if those events didn't happen, I'd still be with him and I'd still be a back-up, so I'm kinda thankful for it." Ash added.

"Wonder how this Lance guy screwed that up?" asked Kevin.

"He's been trying to get me back together with him, but if you're still with another girl, why would you want to get back with me?" asked Ash.

"What's that other girl's name?" asked Morrison.

"Becky." Ash answered.

"Becky? My sister hangs out with her at school and they even go to the mall together. I met her once and there's something about her that I didn't really like." Shawn admitted.

"That makes two of us." Ash agreed.

"So...word on the street is that you have retired from track. Isaac told us while we were at our locker." Milo stated.

"I figured it was time. I mean, I've had my time on track and now that I might make some frquent visits or stay-overs at the Moon Theater, it's inching me closer to my passion for music. I'm just looking forward to express my form of awesomeness to the theater." Morrison replied.

"What type of music are you into?" asked Ash.

"Mostly just hip-hop, punk rock, EDM, alternative, indie and sometimes even some old school classic rock. But most of the songs for some reason I tend to perform or make covers of are cheesy-oriented pop songs. I don't particularly care for them, but I bring my own punky-soul vibe." Morrison responded.

"Looks like you and Johnny have something in common then. He's soulful, you're soulful..." Ash pointed out.

"You haven't seen me sing." Morrison added.

"Not after that one day you sang in the stage." Ash remarked.

"You never told us that! I thought we were your boys." Milo said, a little stunned.

Morrison chuckled in response to that and said, "You still are. You're just my boy with a big mouth."

Most of his friends were laughing at this because they knew Milo could never keep his mouth shut and Milo ended up saying, "Touche."

It's not long afterwards that Meena walked to the cafeteria past Morrison and company and she really wants to sit with them, plus Johnny and Ash, but Trevor dragged her over to his table to sit next to him and as she ate her lunch, Trevor could see her slouching a little and said, "Sit up straight."

Meena quickly did as he said and sat straight and he said, "And shouldn't you eat something smaller? If you're gonna be my girlfriend, you need to look the part instead of stuffing your face with crap."

Meena wasn't aware of this, but Morrison's hearing became so strong that he was taking in what Trevor just said to her, almost as if he's criticizing her weight and what she's eating and that disgusted Morrison on the inside, yet he knew that the person she thought would be the perfect guy turned out to be nothing more than a jerk. Morrison lets out a soft snarl and Trevor berating Meena on what she's wearing, looking or eating caught his friends' attention, including Johnny and Ash.

"I've had hot girls look much more skinner than you. You want me to be your dream boy? Look like the part of a freaking dream girl for me!" Trevor exclaimed.

"You're making a scene, Trevor." Meena whispered, to prevent any further attention.

"I'm making a scene? I'm making a scene? What, you embarrassed of me or something? Tell me how I'm making a scene? You know what? You're making a scene out of me, embarrassing me in front of the whole school!" Trevor exclaimed, pounding a fist on the table, which captures everyone's attention.

Meena couldn't say anything and just covered her face with her big ears to hide her shame and humiliation from everyone and Morrison just felt completely sorry for her and Trevor looks at the crowd and asked, "What are you all looking at? You're all just jealous that I got her as my girlfriend! I bet you won't say anything once she's my wife one day."

Meena just looked at Morrison, Ash and Johnny and lowered her eyes with a crestfallen look on her face and Johnny just couldn't take seeing her like this and wanted to reach out to her immediately and Ash said, "And I thought Mike had an ego problem."

Once Trevor stormed off to get more food, Johnny saw this as his chance to reach out and he slowly walked up to her and asked, "You okay?"

"No." Meena replied, with tears in her eyes.

* * *

Johnny and Morrison come to Meena's defense...next!


	16. Sticking Up for Meena

And here's where Morrison and Johnny face the wrath of Trevor, but stood their ground when it comes to Meena.

* * *

Chapter 16: Sticking Up for Meena

Morrison just couldn't sit still any longer and he jumped at the chance to comfort her as she broke down and knowing that there's already enough witnesses to this, he thought it would be best to just take it to the hallway and he said, "Come on, let's head outside."

Johnny agreed to do so as the two headed out of the cafeteria with Meena, leaving some of the students wondering what is going on and just then, Trevor comes back and finds that Meena's gone and he immediately stormed out of the cafeteria and caught her leaving with Johnny and Morrison and he did not take it that well and shouted, "HEY!"

Morrison stopped and turned to see a very angry Trevor coming by and Meena was just scared that he might do something harmful to her and Trevor confronted Morrison and said, "What are you doing with my girlfriend?!"

"Getting her away from you. We saw what you said to her." Morrison responded.

Trevor then shifted his focus to Johnny and he snorted at the gorilla and asked, "Are you romantically involved with her too?"

"No, I'm not. She's my friend." Johnny responded.

"Oh, that's what they all say until you lock lips with something that's mine! She's my girlfriend and I will be DAMNED if you get in the way of this!" Trevor shouted.

Morrison could see that Trevor's pinning the blame on Johnny and he stuck to the gorilla's defense and said, "Hey, your problem is with me. Leave Johnny out of this."

Giving that statement he just made, Trevor looked at Johnny and had a second opinion about going off on him and he said, "You're right. I do have a bone to pick with you, Morrison. If you think that you're gonna defend her, you've got it twisted. She doesn't need defending from you!"

"You didn't have to call her out because of what she looks like in front of everyone. That's just wrong." Morrison stated.

"Wrong? Wrong?! You think what I said is wrong?" asked Trevor, chuckling in disbelief.

"Yes. And the way you said it too. She looks perfect just as she is!" Johnny exclaimed.

"Was I talking to you, monkey butt? Because I don't remember me talking to you!" Trevor exclaimed.

"Oi! That was was uncalled for!" Johnny responded.

Morrison didn't want the situation to escalate any further and really, Trevor's fight is with Morrison and not Johnny, so to take the gorilla out of the equation, he stepped in and said to Johnny, "Hey, don't worry about it. I got this. You just tend to Meena, all right?"

"You get anywhere near her and I'll knock you out." Trevor growled, angrily.

Meena just whimpered in fear that he'll do something to hurt Johnny and she just told him, "Johnny, it's fine."

"No, it's not. This guy should've never said any of those things to you back there." Johnny responded.

Morrison kept the peace going and he said, "Dude, what's your deal? I don't know if this is how you treat other girls at the school, but when it comes to my neighbor, you pretty much just crossed the line. It makes it my business."

"Starting now, she's mine! Mine and no one else's! And if you try to interfere, I'll throw your track career down the tubes." Trevor seethed.

"Don't bother...because I'm not in track anymore." Morrison added.

And that was a mixed bombshell reaction he's gotten; on one hand, he's glad that Morrison's out of the team because that suspension after training was unfair to him, but one the other hand, he also he won't have anyone to pick on or possibly cheat his way to victory, but his leaving the track team on his own terms didn't really matter to him. What mattered was that Meena was his property and he asked, "Why would Meena ever wanna be with you when she could have someone like me?"

"Why?" asked Morrison.

"Yeah, why?" asked Trevor, with such pride and contrite.

"Look, Meena and I are next door neighbors. That's all it is. But if I ever got a chance to be her boyfriend, I would treat her with respect, dignity and treat her the way a girl deserves to be treated; like a princess or a queen. If I had the chance, I would treat Meena like the beautiful queen she is. You see her as property, but I see her as someone with self-respect, self-worth, self-value and self-love. Those are the kinds of things I would give her." Morrison answered.

That kind of reaction gave out an unexpected thunderous round of applause from nearly everyone at the hallways and the cafeteria and Trevor became appalled by all of this as he looked around and chanted out Morrison's name and he walks away with Johnny and Meena as they headed back to the cafeteria, with a very cheerful embrace and Meena looked at Morrison and after what the cheetah said, she's really happy that Morrison stood up for her and to Trevor too.

"You told him off, dude!" Kenny exclaimed.

"I was like, 'yeah, that's my cheetah friend right there!' Shawn added.

"I didn't think you'd say those things to him." Caden responded.

"I don't think I would've ever say things like that to his face." Zak added.

"You wouldn't." Bryce stated.

Kevin and Milo were just hooting in response as Meena sits with the rest of her friends and she looked at Morrison and just gave him a hug and she said, "Thank you."

"Anytime." Johnny and Morrison responded.

Back at the hallway, Trevor's jealousy had reached a fever point and one of the female classmates chuckled at him and said, "That cheetah told you good."

"Shut up and keep walking!" Trevor shouted, in anger.

* * *

How long will Trevor play this game? We'll find out soon!


	17. Best of Luck

Next up, Morrison's final track game! It's the pre-game version and we get to see Morrison and Meena in this chapter here! No sightings of Trevor...yet.

* * *

Chapter 17: Best of Luck

Friday night

Everyone all across the high school ranging from parents, teachers, kids, students and spectators from all over the town headed over to the high school's football field as they await the track field race tonight and even the local news crew from their sports division are documenting every inch of the game so that they can bring up the updates at the 10:00 news afterwards. Soon enough, Kevin, Shawn, Caden, Zak, Milo and Bryce were heading to the stands to root for Morrison as they heard that it's his final track race and not long afterwards, they see his skate park buddies come in for their support for Morrison as well and they were surprised to see them there, but they know that whoever's a friend of Morrison is a friend of theirs as well.

Shortly afterafter, in comes Ash, Mike, Johnny, Rosita and Gunter coming by alongside Rosita's 25 piglets and her husband Norman coming by in the stands plus Buster and Eddie coming by as they heard that Morrison is gonna have his final track race. Caden and Milo started taking a couple of selfies of each other and on the next selfie, Johnny popped his head to join in as a surprise and once Milo looked at the picture, he saw Johnny's head in between them and Milo asked, "Have we been photobombed?"

Caden looks behind and sees Johnny waving at them and smiling at them and Caden chuckled in response and said, "I think we got the answer to that."

Milo looks behind and sees Johnny and he lets out a slight chuckle and said, "Hey, Johnny."

"Sorry, I just couldn't resist." Johnny replied, happily.

"You're here to root for Morrison too?" asked Caden.

"Yep. I couldn't miss it for the world. Hope you don't mind that we brought along my friends from the Moon Theater." Johnny added.

Milo looked at the others and he was surprised to see a huge gamut of 25 piglets all over the stands and three of the piglets ran towards Milo and tugged on him and he said, "What the heck?"

"Casper! You and your brothers get off him!" Rosita exclaimed.

Casper and his two brothers got back to their seats and Milo dusted himself off of this and Rosita turned to the young wolf and said, "I'm so sorry about this."

"Eh, it's cool. I've had siblings like that at home." Milo responded.

"How many?" asked Rosita.

"4 younger sibs; two boys and two girls." Milo answered.

"I bet it must be rambunctious." Rosita added.

Milo scoffs at this and responded, "Rambunctious is an understatement."

* * *

Meanwhile, at the locker room

Morrison was on his golden jersey, grey and orange striped sweatshorts with a silver headband, black wristband and some white and black sneakers to get himself ready for his final day at the track race and to keep himself motivated, he pulls out his headphones and listens to 'Heathens' from Twenty-One Pumas and as the beat drops, he bobs his head and keeps his mind on the game and for this game, this one is a very big deal because this is his final track game because he's gonna bow out of the game for a new life in his beloved dream; music.

He was the only one in the locker room as he felt a little bit of zen coming through him, yet he couldn't help but think about Meena and how she's doing ever since he told off Trevor about how he treated her and just felt shaken by him humiliating her in front of everyone and he knew that that was super uncalled for. Luckily, since he's been benched, he'll be able to focus more on getting through this and leaving it all on the line to end it with a bang.

"Morris?"

Morrison's ear perked and he turned around to see Meena coming in the locker room and he stands up and walks over to her and asked, "What you doing here?"

"I know I'm not supposed to be in the boys' locker room, but I figured that with you having your last race and all...I decided to make something for you as good luck." Meena replied, holding a box.

Morrison became intrigued by what's in the box and when he opened it up, he saw that there was a cake; just a big cake with kiwi and mango frosting with the words, 'Good luck Morrison' on the center and he lets out a smile that she would take the time to make him a cake and said, "You didn't have to do that."

"I know, but I wanted to...for good luck." Meena answered.

Morrison chuckled at this and received the box and said, "Thanks, Meena. I really appreciate this."

"I also made some for the team too, regardless of who wins or loses." Meena added.

"I know that they'll never get their paws off of the cake. I better put mine somewhere where no one can see or eat it. Or mess with it." Morrison replied, as he takes the boxed cake into a bigger locker he has. He unlocked the secret code and then opened it, placed the cake in and closed it shut.

Meena giggles in response and she said, "Also...I have to break off Trevor because he thinks that I'm gonna be his."

"I wouldn't worry about him. I think you should stand up to him and tell him that you're not his little object that caters to your every whim. If he wants to treat you better, you should also treat yourself better because you have self-respect. If he doesn't, break it off. You'll find someone way better than him." Morrison replied.

Meena smiled in response to what he just said and said, "You're right. Thanks for the advice."

"Anytime." Morrison said, happily.

Meena then walks out of the locker room and without saying a word, it lit a fire underneath Morrison to have a great game tonight and soon enough, he sees his teammates coming by and they all look like they're ready for this game and for Morrison, it's the most meaningful of all and he said, "There's absolutely nowhere I'd be right now than with you guys as we go for out best tonight. I know that you guys will live on as a team, but we will remain close friends off the field."

"I know we will. We should win this, right?" asked one teammate.

"Let's do more than that. Let's go all out and have some fun." Morrison added.

Everyone agreed with this and with Morrison's final game with the team, they're gonna live it up to the fullest and go out as their last hurrah and they put their paws and hooves together and chanted out their trademark battle cry and raised their hands together as they got out of the locker room and headed to the track as a team together, ready to face it all on their own.

* * *

Next up, the track game! Who do you think will win? Find out next!


	18. Victory and Heartbreak

And here's where Morrison experiences the thrill of victory, but also witnessing the agony of defeat...where he sees something that would cause emotional harm to Meena...

* * *

Chapter 18: Victory and Heartbreak

As soon as the team comes to the podium, everyone in the crowd gave a massive amount of cheers and applause along with a standing ovation, rooting for them and Morrison was letting the moment soak it all in for the last time as they prepped themselves for the most important event ever. Morrison's family, friends and new theater friends stood up in support for him and they just couldn't contain their excitement any further and are just looking forward to see what happens next. Before the big game, some of the teammates and the coach got interviewed by the local news to see what they can expect to see on this track and Morrison made some optimistic views on how it'll be his final race and he's very upbeat and just looking forward to give his 200% in it.

"...but you know, it's not about win or lose. It's just having fun and living in the moment. You know, I've had the best years of my life on track and it's kinda bittersweet to have it come to a close, but at the same time...I'm looking forward to whatever opportunties come my way. All my teammates are really awesome people and their qualities shine the most, both on and off the track meet. So...we'll see what happens tonight." Morrison explained to the reporter.

As everyone gets ready for the track race against their rival high school opponent, in comes Trevor completely envious that the rest of the team get to compete and he got booted for shoving Morrison during training. He figured what he did was justifiable to gain possession of Meena so that the cheetah wouldn't get anywhere close to her while he's around and knowing for a fact that he'll try his best to throw Morrison off, he stands up and intends to reinstate himself back on the team.

Soon enough, the gun fired off and off they go and Trevor involuntarily joins in without the team's knowledge, defiant in the penalty as he runs towards everyone to get Morrison's spot, but Morrison could spot him within a mile away and figured out the motive. But there was no time to get distracted by this as he kept pushing forward, which made Trevor very miffed and he went ahead to knock him down, but sure enough...the security team dismantled Trevor instantly and tackled him down to the ground. Trevor tried to fight him off, but the security team had held him still so that he wouldn't move and subsequently got removed from the game and got benched.

The runners meanwhile...focused on running around and around to beat out the other team from their rival high school and on the first lap, Morrison and Isaac were each giving their best runs within a few distances away from each other and they each set a record on their own; Morrison with a timing of 2:38 and Isaac with 2:32, which places them at the scoreboard with the most laps run. Both of them high-fived each other as the crowd cheered like crazy rooting for the two of them and Morrison's skating friends just couldn't help but give out a cheering howl and roar like crazy.

"That's my homeboy!" one skater friend exclaimed.

"Same here, man!" Milo exclaimed.

"I wonder why they put that bull on the team anyway." Mickey stated.

"They kicked him out of the team and the game for shoving Morrison countless times during training." Caden added.

That completely stunned Mickey and looked at Trevor being benched and said, "That guy messing with our skating brother? Oh, I'll give a half-pipe under his butt when I see him!"

"Hey, cool it Mick. Don't throw out the first punch unless he gives you the first punch." another skater added.

"I'm cool, Ziggy." Mickey added, calming himself down, before sitting down.

Johnny couldn't help but look at the young skater and asked one of them, "Is he always like this?"

"Pretty much." Ziggy answered.

As the game comes in, the score is between 18-12 and so far, Morrison's team has been killing it for the last hour and a half and giving the team its biggest scores ever and it all boils down to the final lap. The opposing team are ready to throw down a victory, but Morrison's team have got something up their sleeve whenever that time comes and as the horn blares, they were ready for a throwdown as they ran across the half-mile sprint. Morrison makes a clear sprint towards the circle and saw one of the opposing teammates trying to outrun him, but Morrison is one person that can never be outran for anything. He used his speed and agility to bring down the house and with the assistance of the teammates, Morrison was able to spint faster and faster and then...

"It's Morrison by a whisker! Morrison team takes home a victory!" the announcer exclaimed.

The score upped the stakes and it's 21-15; the final score and all of Morrison's team were victorious and everyone in the stands went berserk, just cheering loudly for Morrison. Morrison was definitely amazed by the fact that they won the match and all of his teammates ran over to him for a group hug as everyone circles around the team just cheering out a victory. As for that amazing thrill, Morrison receives a victory splash as they poured soda all over him to bask in the victory. Despite feeling the cold ice and soaked fur, he couldn't ask for a bigger victory than anything.

* * *

20 minutes later

As everyone got interviewed for the news, Morrison was just happy to celebrate their last hurrah with his teammates and couldn't imagine celebrating a victory than these guys. Afterwards, Morrison sees his his friends and family coming by to congratulate him for his accomplishments. Milo was the first one to give out his compliment and said, "Dude, that was so dope!"

"You ran like crazy out there!" Bryce agreed.

"You were just like lightning in a bottle! I normally don't care for track, but seeing your speed...I might even consider going for it." Mickey added.

"Thanks, guys. I really appreciate this a lot." Morrison added.

Morrison was surprised to see some of his Moon Theater crew coming in and he said, "How'd you guys get here?"

"We've gotten some word of mouth from someone on FaceHooves that we should come by and see your track race for the first time." Buster added.

"Who would...? Milo?" asked Morrison.

"I had thought I sent it out to my awesome buddies and I must've sent it to the Moon Theater's page by accident." Milo added.

"Right...sure." Morrison said, sarcastically.

"Hey, where's Meena? Wasn't she supposed to be here?" asked Rosita.

"Not sure. Last time I saw her was before the game." Morrison answered.

Suddenly, Morrison turned around to see Trevor talking and flirting with another girl and there was something about this picture that wasn't quite right because he would be around Meena and suddenly...it happened. Meena had walked in and saw something she never expected to see; her supposedly 'boyfriend' talking and then kissing another girl on the lips. Meena was completely shocked and heartbroken by this while Morrison's jaw-dropped in shock to see that Trevor's stepping out on Meena.

"What?" Morrison whispered.

After Trevor kissed the other girl, he turned around and saw a very heartbroken Meena standing there and he planted a devious smirk on his face and said, "Hey, Meena. What's up?"

"Trevor! How could you?!" Meena exclaimed, with tears in her eyes.

"Meet my new squeeze, Alisa. She's hot, beautiful and is a much better singer than you. She's my pod and you're just a squished pea, babe." Trevor answered.

"I thought...I thought that there was something between us." Meena added, a little flabbergasted.

Trevor scoffs and said, "Baby, you already happened. And I don't know what you thought we had, but it wasn't really that serious as you thought it was. Besides, what do you have that Alisa doesn't have?"

Meena tried to come up with a response, but just feeling her heart being torn to pieces held her back from gaining that answer and Trevor chuckled and said, "I thought so."

Trevor then kissed Alisa in the lips right in front of Meena to add salt to her wounds and that completely appalled Morrison the most and Milo said, "No he did not just go there! You talk to Meena, man. Trevor's mine!"

Trevor then walks off with Alisa out of the track field and Meena just ran out of there, crying. Everyone had witnessed the sight of a heartbreak in front of everyone's eyes and Morrison just felt completely hurt for Meena and he just didn't know what to do after this other than feel sorry for her.

"That's just messed up, man." Milo added.

"What are you gonna do?" asked Johnny.

Morrison lets out a deep sigh and turned to Johnny and replied, "This is the one time in my life that I wish I knew the answer to that question."

* * *

Hours later

Morrison just laid on his bed, looking at the ceiling for a while and even though he should be happy about having the best victory at track, it was ravaged by thoughts of Meena as he got to witness something he wished he had never seen; Meena getting her heart broken by her so-called crush. He then heard her crying on the window next door while she was singing 'My Everything' from Ariana Jaguare, but with a much break-up twist to it.

Morrison just felt helpless by all this and that was the one thing he hated feeling more than anything-like he wished he could've done something or say something about it or stuck up for her. He pulled out his phone and sent Meena a text asking' R U OK?' and she responded with a heartbroken tearful emoji indicating she's not okay and he responded, 'I'm sorry about what had happened to you...I wished I could've done something to help.'

Meena responded back, 'It's OK, Mo...thx 4 checking on me.'

It literally kills Morrison to see his crush get crushed on another guy that not only treated her like she's worthless and a prize, but wouldn't give her the time of day or even be interested. He hops into bed just saddened by it and he just picked up his guitar and played something to cope with the feelings he has, but is totally unaware that a certain elephant next door is listening to it and for some reason, she just couldn't stop listening and with tears in her eyes, she just felt like Morrison really cares for her.

"Oh, Morris..." Meena said, sniffling.

* * *

A very bittersweet moment, indeed. You can tell that Morrison cares deeply for Meena after watching her heart get broken right in front of her. Wonder what Morrison will say to Trevor? Find out next!


	19. Hidden Scheme

And here's where Trevor's evil side gets exposed...just a little seedling.

* * *

Chapter 19: Hidden Scheme

As soon as Monday rolls around, Morrison walked himself to school and he was still reeling from what he had just witnessed at that track field on Friday night when Trevor kissed another girl right in front of Meena. He couldn't even process that around his mind on the fact that he saw his crush being heartbroken in the worst possible way and he just felt like he needed to know why and consider Meena's feelings at the same time. As soon as Morrison walked into his locker, he overheard Trevor sweet-talking another girl...which is not the same girl he saw kissing that Friday night. It was another girl, a female vixen no less...taking a liking to his charms and just giggled everytime he compliments her.

Morrison had never been so remotely disturbed in his life to watch this in person while Meena's trying to recover from the same jerk that broke her heart right in front of her. Of course, he would love to confront him about it, but decided to wait until the girl leaves, probably being hypnotized by Trevor's deceit and flirtatious ways at that. Eventually, she leaves and as soon as she's nowhere to be seen, now's the perfect timing. Morrison walked straight up to Trevor, in which Trevor responds...

"I've been waiting to see you, Morrison." Trevor said, chuckling.

"Spare me the pleasant greeting, Trevor. That was really low, what you did." Morrison responded.

"And just what have I done?" asked Trevor, unlocking his locker.

"I think we both know very well what that is; you broke Meena's heart right in front of her, kissing another girl. She fell hard for you early on and yet you completely shattered her world into pieces. I don't know how many times you've played that trick on the other girls at school here, but if you start something with Meena, that's where I step in. She was really gonna be your girlfriend and this is how you treat her?" Morrison asked, obviously very upset over this.

"Are you finished?" asked Trevor, grabbing his books.

"Why is that a question?" asked Morrison.

"In case you haven't figured it out, I haven't completed stepped out on her...yet. That was all just a ruse to teach her a lesson on what happens when she's mixed in with guys like you." Trevor responded.

Suddenly, Morrison went from upset to confused in less than 30 seconds and said, "Okay, now you lost me."

"I'm gonna get her back. I'm gonna control her in every which way I can." Trevor said, chuckling evilly.

"Can you kinda elaborate on that?" asked Morrison.

Trevor sighed in annoyance and said, "If you wanna keep your whiskers in places where it doesn't belong...I used Alisa as a ruse to kiss me in front of Meena as a life lesson to teach her what happens when you step out on my control. If you break free from it, there will be consequences. I'll find someone else who I can control and be my girlfriend. No one could resist this beautiful face and muscles and swagger. I am good-looking after all. I'm gonna sweet-talk that sap of a elephant and when she falls for the bait, she'll never leave me by my side. We're gonna be very happy together...and this time, you will not get anywhere close to her; whether in or out of school."

Once Morrison got all the information soaked into his head, he asked, "So...what you're saying is in order for Meena to be your boyfriend again, you have to act like you're remorseful and continue taking control of her like she's yours and if I interfere, there will be consequences?"

"Wow...you really do have a high GPA!" Trevor replied, laughing.

Morrison chuckled at this and said, "Ohh...I get it. So that you'll make her the envy of every girl at school and make them feel worthless that she's got a boyfriend and they don't and that you'll be the most envious couple. That's what I'm getting here."

"Some parts, yes." Trevor said.

"I got it. Um...here's my response...do you know how stupid that is? You're using Meena for your own popular, personal purposes." Morrison added.

"Yep. And if you try anything to stop me, I'll see to it that I'll turn the whole school against you." Trevor said, chuckling.

"The whole school?" asked Morrison.

"The whole school. I run it." Trevor added.

Now Morrison definitely knows that Trevor's gone deluisional with that notion and knowing that he'll rebel against Trevor's plans and put Meena first, he responded, "Go ahead, do whatever you want. But I guarantee you...if anything happens to her and I know about it...let's just say you won't like the end result. Meena is not a trophy you wanna show off to people. She's a real person with real feelings...something that you obviously never have."

"You think I'm scared? Fear is nowhere near my dictionary." Trevor responded.

"No, it's not. But it's somewhere in your eyes." Morrison added.

Morrison left it at that and headed straight to class and he was unaware that Milo, Johnny, Marshall and Kevin overheard the conversation and Johnny whispered, "He's really gonna get Meena back?"

"This guy has a better chance of being penetrated deep in his butt by his two horns." Kevin responded.

* * *

Will Meena take the bait? Stay tuned and find out!


	20. Already Turning Him Down

Picking up from where the last chapter went off...here's the answer as to will Meena take the bait to get back with Trevor.

* * *

Chapter 20: Already Turning Him Down

Meena was still trying to get herself back on track after going through the most painful revelation she has endured...watching her crush kiss another girl that Friday night. She couldn't get over that experience of what it was like watching her dreams and hopes of one day being his girlfriend would burst into flames, even though he had degraded her in front of everyone. She tried to put it all behind her and just move on with her life and forget about Trevor because there's no way that she'll come back to that again. When she went to her locker, she saw a note on there and when she picked it up and opened, he saw that it was from Morrison. He writes...

 _Hey, Meena_

 _I know that you've had a rough weekend because of what's his name kissing in front of you Friday night. I just wanted to let you know that if you need someone to talk to, we can always talk on our window, text or maybe FaceTime each other. And thanks for giving me the belief to go into music. I mean, you have always pushed me to pursue music and since the game, I'm thinking about spending time at the Moon Theater, so we can hang out more. You're an awesome person and you'll find someone better than Trevor one day._

 _Sorry if I didn't get a chance to call you this weekend. Hope you're feeling better!_

 _Morrison_

 _P.S.: Thanks for the cake! It was so good!_

That letter made Meena feel a lot better knowing that it came from Morrison and it definitely shows how much he cares about her and it meant a lot. She stashed it in her pocket so that whenever she feels down, she'll look at the letter and carry it with her. She got her books, closed the locker and when she turned around, there's Trevor. Meena sighed deeply as she faced him and she said, "What do you want?"

Trevor looks as if he's reverting to his cool self with a humble approach and he said, "Listen, I'd like to apologize for kissing that girl right in front of you. I was wrong, it was stupid and I should never had hurt you."

"You really did hurt me, Trevor." Meena added.

"Yeah, I know. She meant nothing to me. I've been so stupid and jealous that you would lose me. I promise you that I'll never degrade you or humiliate you again. It'll be like it never happened." Trevor said, trying to be as humble as possible.

Meena blinked her eyes at this and part of her wanted to believe him, but another part of her kinda held her back because he might be up to his old tricks again and lapse back into being a jerk again and she said, "But it did happen. I saw you kiss that girl right in front of me."

"And I don't blame you for being upset. I would be too if I caught you kissing Morrison..." Trevor stopped midway when he inadvertedly blurted out Morrison's name.

"Morrison?" asked Meena, raising an eyebrow of suspicion.

Trevor then clears his throat and reiterated his mistake and said, "I mean...some other guy."

Meena heard Trevor's original answer loud and clear and figured that Trevor's not changed a slight bit and she said, "I think you've said enough. You just wanted me to be your boyfriend so that you'd keep Morrison away from me."

The fact that Meena already figured it out in front of Trevor kinda threw him off course and he just kept acting like nothing happened and said, "Come on, babe...look at me. Would I ever lie to you?"

Meena knew where the answer was and she's still not over being crushed by her own crush and said, "Listen, Trevor...I don't think I'll trust you after what you did. And to think that I want to be your girlfriend!"

"Hey, Trevor doesn't take no for an answer, Meena." Trevor said, almost going postal.

Meena could tell that his demeanor is one of possessiveness and selfishness growing in and she just can't picture herself being trapped in that cycle and she looked at Trevor in the eye and said, "Well, guess what? There is no future between us. As far as you and I are concerned, I will not be your girlfriend with the way you have treated me. There's nothing you can say or do that will make me change my mind."

"Meena! Are you hearing yourself?" asked Trevor.

"Yes, I am. And you can hear this...me and you are through." Meena answered, before grabbing her things and walking away from Trevor.

Trevor was dumbfounded by what just happened and he said, "Meena, get back here! Don't you walk away from me!"

But Meena didn't take heed to Trevor's pleas and kept walking and that was the breaking point for Trevor as he fumed at this and punched his hoof at Meena's locker, leaving a medium-sized dent and just got infuriated by the fact that her attempt to win her back has backfired and he said, "You'll regret this."

* * *

There you go, Meena! Stick up for yourself, girl! But it sounds like Trevor's not gonna let her go...not for a long shot! How far will he go? Stay tuned for more!


	21. Skate Park Buds

Next up, we focus on Morrison for a bit at the skate park and someone goes along with him...with Morrison taking him for a ride.

* * *

Chapter 21: Skate Park Buds

3:15 PM

As everyone heads home from school, Morrison wanted to get to the skate park to meet up with Milo, Marshall and his skating buddies and of course, he came completely prepared with all the safety pads as well as a bonus and a couple of minutes later, he was set to go until...

"Oi! Morrison!"

Morrison turned around to see Johnny coming to catch up with him and once he did, Morrison was surprised to see him and said, "Hey, Johnny. What's up?"

"Thought I'd catch up with you before heading to the Moon Theater." Johnny replied, catching his breath, then saw the pads all around him.

"What?" asked Morrison.

"What's with the pads?" asked Johnny.

Morrison looked at the pads all over and he said, "Oh, yeah...gotta hit the skate park. Marshall said that he's got this radical skate move on the ramp that he wants to show us, so I gotta see what that's about."

"You skate too?" asked Johnny.

And that surprised Morrison to hear that from Johnny and he turned to him and asked, "Yeah. Wait, you skate?"

"Yeah, sometimes I get around in my truck or on my board around town mostly." Johnny answered.

Suddenly, Morrison got himself an idea that would completely bring him into what he likes to do after school and he turned to the cockney gorilla and asked, "Have you ever been to a skate pare before?"

"I pass through them, but never actually went in one before." Johnny answered.

"Well...I hope you got your board with you because I can show you how I let my fur down after school." Morrison answered, with a little smirk on his face.

Johnny wasn't sure what he actually meant by that and Morrison got on his board and told him to follow him as he began skating to the park. Johnny had his board on him anyways, so he got on and followed Morrison towards the town and as the two skated through the streets, Morrison steered the course and kept leading Johnny through a few alleyways, then down the city roads until he saw Milo and Marshall standing by and Morrison stopped in front of them and said, "Sup, dudes?"

"What took ya, man? Mickey's been asking when you'll be coming." Marshall answered.

Not long afterwards, Johnny showed up in front of the park, much to Milo and Marshall's surprise and Morrison said, "Thought I'd bring Johnny to show him the skate park."

"For reals?" asked Milo.

"Yep. Johnny, you remember Milo and Marshall." Morrison said.

"Hello all." Johnny answered.

"Sup, Johnny?" Milo added.

Milo then noticed Johnny has a skateboard and he started to see Morrison's motive to bring Johnny over and Milo told Johnny, "Welcome to the skate park, dude. Let's see if you're gonna be our skate head today."

"Skate head?" asked Johnny, a little confused.

"You'll see when we come in." Morrison replied.

So Morrison, Milo and Marshall took Johnny in the entrance to the skate park and what met Johnny's eyes became astonishing beyond his wildest imagination; mounds of skaters all across the park, shredding up the half-pipe, scrolling through the rails and everything in between. Obviously, this is way out of Johnny's comfort, but not entirely when it comes to skating. Before long, he sees the gang all in the rink, just talking and joking.

"Hey, guys." Morrison said.

They all turned around to see Morrison, Milo and Marshall showing up and also they were stunned to see Johnny coming by and this sparked excitement in Mickey and immediately popped up and said, "Dude, you're actually here?! This is just awesome written all over it!"

"Hello, Mickey. I see we meet again, I suppose." Johnny responded, with a chuckle.

"Check it out, guys...we got a newbie in the group." Ziggy said, giving Johnny a little fist bump.

"Johnny, this is the crew; Sammy, Mikey, Jackson, Zeke, Brandon, Jimmy-Jax and you remember Ziggy and Mickey." Morrison responded, introducing his skate friends to him.

"What up, Johnny?" everyone asked.

"Nice to meet you lot. Do you guys go to the same school as Morrison?" asked Johnny.

"We wish. Half of us go to different schools. Jackson, Mikey and Sammy go to another high school and the rest of us go to an elite private school. Life in private school is like a huge sucking time bomb of boredom." Mickey added.

"Tell us about it. We have to wear uniforms a lot and it made us feel like we're part of this preppy, rich school where looking polish is everything." answered Zeke; a 16-year old mountain lion, wearing a green t-shirt, dark camo pants, orange eyes, spiky mohawk on his hair, weighing at 188 pounds, standing at 5'8 and wearing some grey sandals.

"You guys are the lucky ones to go to the same school." Ziggy added.

"Probably so." Johnny added.

"By the way, my big sister has the biggest crush on you when she saw you singing on TV at that talent show. She wanted to know if you would take a selfie with her one day." Mikey responded.

"Sure thing." Johnny answered.

"Hey, guys...let's show Johnny what we do here." Morrison added.

A very enthusiastic Mickey wagged his tail like crazy and said, "Let's hit it up!"

Johnny followed them as he watched the others skate their hearts out as Morrison, Mickey and Ziggy skate across the half-pipe, showing off their super cool moves. Morrison made an alley-oop with a high octane twist and a vertical aerial loop all while holding onto the board while Mickey made a zig-zag move and went straight up for the highest move and then landing onto the ground and still rolling. Ziggy skated all the way down to the railing and shredded on the half-pipe and did a massive backflip and landed straight to the ground.

Johnny became blown away by their amazing moves and then Milo, Marshall and the rest of the crew all joined in to show Johnny some supercool skateboard moves. Afterwards, they got back together and Morrison asked Johnny, "So...what do you think so far?'

"That was awesome! You know, I wish that I can do what you guys did." Johnny answered.

"Maybe you'll get your wish." Mickey added.

Johnny then widened his eyes at that notion that he might actually do some skateboarding and asked, "Really?"

"Hey, if you can sing and play piano, you can skateboard." Mickey added.

Morrison could tell that this was going a little fast for Johnny and said, "Whoa, whoa, whoa...hold on, Mick. Let's not get to that point yet. Can you show us what you can do with your skateboard?"

"Sure." Johnny replied.

Johnny got on his board and just skated across the parts of the park and even going as further as to do a little move where he flips his board with his feet and makes the board spin and back on the board, which blew away the skaters. Morrison had no idea Johnny could actually do that and do it so effortlessly too.

"How was that?" asked Johnny.

"O...M...F'in...G, dude." Mickey said, jaw-dropped.

"#DidIJustSeeThat?" asked Ziggy, sharing the same shock.

"Bro...where have you been hiding that?" asked Morrison.

"I have been doing some skating on my own when I was kid." Johnny answered.

"And without a scratch, either?" asked Milo.

Johnny scratched the back of his neck and said, "I've had a few bumps and scrapes here and there."

"We oughta have you here like everyday, man. Maybe you'll teach us a little something." Marshall added.

Soon enough, a red sports car pulled in front of the skate park and just then, in comes Mike coming in looking for Johnny and he said, "There you are, kid! Where were you?"

Johnny was surprised to see Mike come by and didn't expect him to find him in all places; a skate park. Mike climbs onto Johnny's shoulder, to which the gorilla responded, "Sorry, Mike. Just at the skate park, is all."

"Right, right, right...you coming to the theater or what?" asked Mike.

"Yeah, I'll be along." Johnny answered.

"Yeah, you've got a little better timing there than surrounding yourself with these...riff-raffs." Mike responded, looking at the skaters.

"Riff-raffs?" everyone asked.

"Hello, Mike." Morrison said.

Mike popped his head and saw Morrison stand there and inadvertedly called Morrison out and said, "Except you, kid."

"Who's the runt with the gangster look? This isn't a 40's mafia, man. It's 2017." Mickey added.

Mike quickly went over to Mickey and said, "Those are fighting words, pal. This is the what a real good singer should look like."

"Yeah, if I'm 65." Mickey added.

"Am I crazy or does this guy have the same name as me?" Mikey asked.

Mike looks directly at Mikey for a second and asked, "What's your name?"

"Michael...but my homies call me Mikey." Mikey responded.

"As long as you ain't stealing my name, we won't have any problems." Mike stated.

Mickey scoffs and mocks at Mike's voice and said, "I bet you this little cheesehead couldn't skate. Probably too tiny to even handle a skateboard."

"Very funny, stranger. I'll deal with you another time." Mike said, before walking back to his car.

Mike looks at the others and just gave them a 'jealous much?' look at them and said, "Don't you wish you had a nice car like this?"

"Right, we'll meet you at the theater." Johnny called out.

"Looking forward to it, Johnny boy." Mike said, putting his shades on before driving off.

As they watch Mike drive away, Mickey rolled his eyes and said, "I'd rather ride around with a dirt bike than an expensive car. I've seen way too many of those at school and I could care less about how good looking they are or what speed it goes in."

"He may be a little self-centered and arrogant at times, but he's really a good person once you get to know him." Johnny added.

"Or...?" asked Mikey.

"If you're on his good side." Johnny replied.

"If that's his good side, I would hate to see his bad side." Mickey stated.

* * *

You guys may be wondering why there are two Mike's here...I'll tell you the answer soon! Review if you must if you have questions!


	22. Adjusting to the Moon Theater

And here's how Morrison is when it comes to music at the Moon Theater1

* * *

Chapter 22: Adjusting to the Moon Theater

20 minutes later

Johnny and Morrison made their way to the Moon Theater by skateboard and Morrison brought in his guitar case as they went in the theater and Morrison just felt like stepping into a piece of his dream coming alive in the best way possible and once he went to the stage, he felt like this is his new home. Soon enough, both of them met up with Buster Moon and Johnny said, "Hello, Mr. Moon."

"Hello, Johnny. Morrison, good to see you again!" Buster exclaimed.

"You too, sir." Morrison replied.

Buster then noticed a little strap wrapped around his chest and asked, "What's that you got there?"

Morrison looked up and then he answered, "My guitar case."

"Interesting. Do you play guitar only?" asked Buster.

"I play everything else too. I play the piano, drums, banjo, violin, cello, harmonica, flute and even the harp." Morrison answered.

Mike then spluttered and laughed out loud over the fact that Morrison plays the harp as soon as he walked past them and said, "The harp? Isn't that for girls?"

"There are several guys that can play the harp. They say it's the number-one attractive musical instrument to get a girl's attention, right behind piano, guitar, drums and the saxophone." Morrison elaborated.

Mike stopped laughing as soon as Morrison made his point clear and was shocked to hear that the saxophone was in fifth place in instruments to get a girl's attention and asked, "What moron made up that poll?"

Morrison pulled out his phone to show Mike further proof of this and when he saw the numbers, they were very staggering for him to take in and Mike sneered at Morrison and said, "Nothing beats the saxophone."

Morrison looked up at Johnny and asked, "Does he always treat you like that?"

"Not really. Usually towards Rosita or Gunter." Johnny answered.

"I have to ask, do you guys always outdo each other when it comes to singing?" asked Morrison.

"Nope, Johnny and I are total equals. Sure, I have the better voice, but the kid knows how to play piano like it's no one's business. I could never sing in a higher pitch though, so I tip my hat off for Johnny." Mike answered.

"Cool." Morrison added.

Later on, Buster takes Morrison to his rehearsal room where he'll spend most of his time honing his craft in even further, in spite of his many musical experiences and talents he's got and once Buster left him alone, Morrison took some time to settle in and set down his guitar case, unzipped it and took out his guitar and gave it some fine tuning. After a few test strums, Morrison started playing the guitar and almost immediately, he felt a core of emotions coming in as he sets his mind at ease. This time, he's in a completely different environment than what he usually enters in; being backstage in a rehearsal room instead of in his room for the first time.

There's just so many thoughts, ideas, concepts and motions he's capturing in his head as soon as he plays the guitar in terms of feeling many things that had occured recently; realizing his crush for Meena is huge, dealing with Trevor, departing from track, experiencing his huge win at his final track game and watching Meena get her heart broken by Trevor and not doing anything about it to soften the blow. He taps his shoe with every beat and it showcases how much he's feeling the vibe as he's playing.

After several minutes, he stops for a second and walks over and hears some piano playing from a further distance and as it got closer, he saw that it was Johnny playing for a second. Knowing fully intact that he wanted to add a little vibe to it, Morrison strums his guitar and plays along with the tempo to keep both instruments working with each other. Johnny overhears the acoustic strums and turns to see Morrison playing his guitar as he's playing piano, which surprises him to a great deal and the two started playing off with each other.

Just then, it attracts Meena's attention and she comes closer and sees Morrison there and she started listening to it and it even caught the ears of Gunter, Rosita, Mike, Ash, Eddie and Buster as they saw the two jamming together and Gunter was dancing to it at some point and when it reached its final climax, they ended it with a long piano outro and a final guitar strum. They started clapping, which completely caught both teens off guard.

"That was just amazing! You guys look like you could be a duo!" Buster exclaimed.

Johnny chuckled at this and turned to Morrison and said, "You're really good with the guitar, Morrison."

"Thanks. It's just that whenever I hear someone play piano or any other instrument, I can't help myself. I would often join in to see what kind of vibes I would get because I'm like a sponge; I soak in everything and try it out; whether it's rock, soul, pop, opera, blues, classical or even jazz." Morrison added.

"Jazz?" asked Meena.

"Yeah, my dad and my grandfather would play vinyl jazz records a lot and we would just vibe along to it most of the day. Big bands are cool too, but I put in a modern twist to it." Morrison explains.

"What do you know about big bands?" asked Mike, in disbelief.

"My grandpa has records full and even cassettes, which he still owns. He owns every vinyl record, CD and cassette of big bands, jazz, funk, soul, R&B and rock. I know it's unusual for a kid like me in this generation to get into this type, but I'm very biased. I can like modern music and classic ones too." Morrison replied.

Meena giggles at this and she said to Morrison, "Sounds like you love it here."

"I do." Morrison replied.

"You guys have got to hear his instrumental mixtape he made on his own. It's fantastic." Meena said.

"Ja, I would love to hear it!" Gunter exclaimed.

"I wanna see what you got." Ash agreed.

"Us too." Buster and Eddie added.

Morrison chuckled at this and knew that his place at the Moon Theater will be completely amazing and he said, "I know I'm gonna like it here."

* * *

Looks like the Moon Theater is a new home for Morrison! Next up, we see just how evil Trevor can be...


	23. Plot for Revenge

And now...we turn to Trevor and whatever idea has gotten in his head has something to do with Meena! And formulate a plan of vengeance...but of course, will not go at it alone.

* * *

Chapter 23: Plot for Revenge

Trevor was just sitting on his bed, completely obssessed with getting with Meena and the fact that she completely rejected his advances towards him got him all furious and vengeful and nobody could ever stand up in front of his face and just dismiss it. He's not used to being rejected and it felt like he had a loss of control over the situation and it's not something that he'll accept or cope with. In that notion, he wanted to make her suffer for it and go as far as getting revenge on her. The door opens to his room and he sees his friends come in; one white wolf, a lion, a polar bear, a bull and a gorilla; all males ranging from 16-18, each with spectacular builds and bulk and the white wolf comes to Trevor and said, "So...what is it that is important?"

"Guys...I'm freaking desperately obsessed with her." Trevor answered.

"Who is it this time?" asked the polar bear teen.

Trevor whipped out his phone and showed the guys a picture of Meena and with only one look, they were enamored by her style and size and the gorilla looked amazed by her and said, "Wow...that's her? I'm a huge fan of her after that talent show on TV not too long ago. I mean, she can really sing. Man, if I ever had the chance to meet her, I would-"

Trevor gave the young gorilla a big death stare almost as if he's trying to steal her from him and said, "She's not your girlfriend! She's mine! GET IT?!"

The young gorilla just looked at Trevor in the eyes in fear and replied, "I got it."

"Now, listen...she had the nerve to reject me after my attempts to get her back. I used Alisa as a ruse to break her heart, so I kissed her at the track field and then left her high and dry to get back with Meena. But somehow, she started thinking all of that was real. Oh, just how dumb each and every girl can be." Trevor added.

"So...what do you want us to do about it?" asked the lion teen.

Trevor began formulating a plot that would bring out his personal vengance on Meena for rejecting him and then, he brought out his most diabolical and insidious plan that will no doubt the most sickening and he turned to them and said, "We do what we always do when a girl doesn't accept my advances...we torture her in the woods."

Some of the guys except for the gorilla were on board with this plan right from the get-go and the lion asked, "Oh, yeah! That's gonna be amazing! What do we have to do?"

"I want you guys to get some rope, shackles, chains, blindfold, a shovel, an ax, a pistol, knife, poison, a pipe and a whip. She's gonna have a punishment for rejecting me in school. I mean, I'm like the hottest guy in school living in a mansion in this town and the most popular! She's gonna pay for turning me down and will soon reap what she sows." Trevor added, in a menacing tone.

The gorilla became apprehensive about this plan and said, "Trevor, didn't we almost get in trouble for the last one?"

"We got away scot-free and the case has gone cold, man. They would never believe that a couple of high school kids like us would be capable of doing something gruesome like this. I'll say this though-that last girl put a good fight." Trevor added.

"Yeah, but still...I don't think getting back at Meena is a good idea, man." the gorilla added.

Trevor scoffed at the young gorilla and walks up towards him and said, "Let's make one thing clear, Joshua. We'll never get caught because we'll get away with it. You know it, and me, Dax, Dylan, Brad and Chester know it too. You always have this backing out agenda because you think we'll get in trouble. But...in case a witness does see what's going on, take care of it."

"Want me to bring my machine gun?" asked Chester.

Trevor looked at the young lion in the eye and smiled at that and said, "That's a good idea. You can bring a machine gun in case Meena tries to fight me off or escape. And whatever witness comes forward, take them out."

Chester chuckled at this and said, "Sweet!"

"How about that Morrison guy?" asked the bull.

Then, Trevor realized that Morrison would interfere and stop this plan and he figured that he'll get two bonus revenge with the same purpose and he said, "That's where you come in, Brad. Take him out after Dax and Dylan take him down."

Both Dax and Dylan were just excited to do this job and Dylan unsheathed his claws as he said, "I'm so ready for this, man. This is gonna be so much fun!"

"Hey, I got an idea...we'll livestream the event on FaceHoof!" Dax pointed out.

"Brilliant! It will be entertaining for us all!" Trevor agreed.

Joshua was the only one that doesn't think this is a good idea and just had a sick feeling in his stomach about the whole thing, but at the same time, he'll do anything to stay on the group because he feels like he's been accepted, in spite of Trevor's questionable activities that are downright dangerous.

"Let's do it tomorrow night. We've got to pull this off. It's just a matter of when it will occur. It's now or never." Trevor added.

"We're with you, man!" Chester exclaimed.

"So are we!" the rest agreed.

Joshua was the only holdout from this and Trevor looked at Joshua and urged him to join in and asked, "Are you in or out?"

"I still don't think it's a good idea." Joshua added.

"Come on, wimp! We're all in this together!" Dax exclaimed.

Joshua lets out a defeated sigh and just agreed to join in, though he knows he'll regret it soon afterwards and said, "I'm in."

"That's what I thought, man. Good choice." Trevor said, with a sinister smile.

* * *

You'll see these hooligan thugs later on in the story! Stay tuned!


	24. Big Brother Advice

We now shift to Morrison and we meet Vincent and his college buds as well as Vincent giving his brother some wisdom...kind of.

* * *

Chapter 24: Big Brother Advice

By the time Morrison got home before sunset, he was already filled with jubilation after his first nearly full day at the Moon Theater and just couldn't wait to take it all in as well as going back there tomorrow. He opened the back door, entered inside and took off his sneakers as he walked upstairs while holding his sneakers all the way up to his room until he heard some conversation in his older brother's room and he saw Vincent and some of his college buds, chilling in the room, playing some video games.

"Hey, Vince...eat lead!" one white tiger, exclaimed, grabbing onto the controller.

Vincent could see what one of his roomies are up to and tries to trick him by going around that video-game car and catch up with him and went in high speed to spike up his high score, shocking the white tiger college student and Vincent made a boastful laugh and exclaimed, "You were saying, Baxter?"

"Lucky shot, V! I could've totally whipped your cheetah tail with one hand tied behind your back!" Baxter exclaimed.

Vincent scoffs and said, "You couldn't even beat me at a race with your chubby butt! My little brother can run a lot faster than you and he's top speed!"

"I appreciate the compliment, Vinny...for once." Morrison said, standing in front of the door.

Vincent immediately got started by Morrison's prescence as soon as he turned around and said, "Dude, are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

"Nope, just heard some commotion coming from upstairs, so I came to investigate. Looks like I solved this mystery." Morrison replied.

"Where've you been anyway? Mom had to go to meeting with dad, so you're stuck with us for a few hours. And she said that there's some dinner on the stove, so you'll have to keep an eye on it." Vincent replied.

"I already got the text from her earlier on my way back." Morrison added.

"Where were you anyway, twerp?" asked Vincent.

"Nun-ya." Morrison answered.

"Nun-ya what?" asked Vincent, with a cock-eyed eyebrow.

"Nun-ya business."

Some of Vincent's college friends exclaimed in shock and surprise as they're laughing and Baxter said, "Looks like you fell for the 'nun-ya business' trick!"

Vincent laughs sarcastically at that and said, "Very funny. Seriously, where've you been?"

"Why do you care?" asked Morrison.

"I don't. I just asked a question. Also, mom asked first." Vincent added.

"Well, I've been hanging around at the Moon Theater after the skate park." Morrison replied.

"The Moon Theater? You mean it's actually popular again?" asked one of the college students.

"Yeah, have you been there?" asked Morrison.

"Not yet, but I'm hoping. By the way, give that porcupine girl this." the same college student replied, giving Morrison this piece of paper that has his number on it.

"Why would you want me to give Ash your number?" Morrison asked.

"That's her name? I'd wanna get with her." the college student added.

Vincent scoffs at this and said, "Rocky, you have a better chance at getting close to being struck by her spike than with her."

"So says the guy that can't get a boyfriend and a girlfriend if he tried to." Rocky said, guffawing.

Vincent rolled his eyes in response and said, "Oh yeah? At least I don't pull my pants down and play in my undies."

"Guys, guys...too much info here." Morrison said, a little weirded out.

Baxter gets himself up and he turned to Vincent and asked, "Speaking of info, I'm hungry. You guys got any snacks around here?"

"Don't we always?" asked Morrison.

Morrison takes Vincent and his college pals to the pantry where it's laoded with many snacks and dinners galore and Baxter was just super happy to see everything there and he turned to Vincent and said, "How long have you been holding out on us? I could eat every ounce of snacks in here!"

"Which is why my mom always keep a lock on the door so you wouldn't empty everything there." Vincent replied, patting Baxter's belly.

After awhile, some of Vincent's college friends just ate some snacks and Morrison made himself at home with them as Morrison explains everything about his day at the Moon Theater, which kinda sparked their interest and causes some to give Morrison a hard time about his future theater background and Morrison just mocked back towards some of them. Baxter looked at Vincent and said, "Your brother is such a smart aleck."

"I see where he gets it from." Rocky added.

* * *

Less than an hour later, Vincent's college friends have left the house going to either the dorms, classes or to work, leaving Vincent and Morrison home alone together and Vincent was just walking around with his tank top and basketball shorts downstairs and saw Morrison checking on some food and he asked, "How's the food coming?"

"Needs to bake for 15 minutes more." Morrison replied.

"Hurry it up, I'm starving." Vincent answered.

Afterwards, Morrison sits down on the counter and he figured that this would be the last thing he would do, but he kinda needs a little bit of advice on something and he asked, "Hey, Vincent?"

"Yeah?" asked Vincent.

"Can I ask you something?" asked Morrison.

"What?"

"I know that you're into girls and guys when you're in these college functions, but I have this friend who has a crush on this girl who lives next door and goes to the same high school as this friend. The thing is, he likes her and wants to tell her how he feels about her, but he's kinda scared to. But there's this other guy that wants her all to himself and wanted her for his own popular purposes to be the coolest dude in high school, but doesn't really treat her with respect. So...what should my friend do?" asked Morrison.

"You're seriously asking me that?" asked Vincent, a little surprised.

"Yes, I am." Morrison answered.

Vincent kinda picked this whole thing up in his head and asked, "That girl wouldn't happen to Meena and the friend wouldn't be you, would it?"

Morrison only responded with silence that Vincent cracked the code on his own and asked, "You knew?"

"Bro, I know you've had a crush on that girl for a long time, so I'm not surprised when you referenced yourself to someone else you know. Why don't you just tell her how you feel about her?" asked Vincent.

"It's not that simple, Vin. I don't wanna mess up everything we have." Morrison answered.

"That's true. But you gotta take a chance because you never know what you're missing out on and you'll never know how she feels about you unless you find out for yourself. Plus, I can understand why someone would get in your way of being around your crush. I've had the same thing happen to me back at high school, but you already knew about that. Anyway, my crush was a geek anyways." Vincent added.

"Yeah, he was a weirdo. Guy could make a mean peach pie though." Morrison added.

"Yeah, but just give it a shot. Those who wait longer makes your personal goal nothing short of a delay." Vincent added.

"I think you've took one philosophy course too many. But...thanks, big bro." Morrison replied.

"Anytime. One favor though...tell anyone I gave you brotherly advice and I'll give you a college-bound noogie until graduation." Vincent said, giving Morrison a noogie.

"I can't even remember the conversation." Morrison replied, straining.

Vincent then releases him and Morrison got himself up, but smiled at his brother for appreciation and checked in on the food to see if they're ready and from the smell, the aroma is flowing in the kitchen and Vincent said, "By the way, you have to teach me a few things on track. Everyone in my college has been talking about it and it turned me into an overnight celebrity brother. A few sorority sisters even invited me to their parties. Heck, frat guys wanted me to join in on their parties."

"I didn't think college kids would be interested in seeing high school sport coverage." Morrison added.

"Especially when you're in them." Vincent said.

"I'm stoked about college life soon. Who knows, in 3 years from now, I'll be around the campus with you." Morrison stated.

"By then, I'll be graduating." Vincent stated.

"I know...so that one day I'll probably be smarter than you." Morrison said, laughing.

Vincent scoffs at this and he chased after Morrison around the house, both of them laughing and chattering indistinctly almost as if Morrison had opened his mouth about his smarts and Vincent exclaimed, "I'll get you for that!"

"Can you keep up?" asked Morrison, running faster.

* * *

Pretty good advice! And that will be put to the test! Next chapter, Trevor's plan to get Meena is in full swing! Prepare for the drama and action! Can you handle it?


	25. The Worst is Coming

And now...the action, drama and insanity begins! Trevor exposes his deadly, evil side even further!

* * *

Chapter 25: The Worst is Coming

The next evening, Morrison was sitting down on his bed, just drawing some guitar designs and bringing in a personal, customized touch to go along with any mood or emotion that comes with it. As an avid music enthusiast, he has a flair for the arts as well when it comes to drawing ideas for musical instruments. This one particular idea stems as his back-up plan in case his music dreams are kaput because he loves to draw on his spare time and most of them are just people, places, cars, skateboards and music instruments. The latter part, he tends to draw them because it shows just how creative he is and just passionate he is about music.

He takes a look at the design and starts thinking of adding something interesting in it to make it stand out and suddenly, he thinks of flames and starts drawing them in parts of the outer guitar and began thinking of what kind of color the flames should be in.

"Hmm...what colors should it be? Orange is too traditional. Ooh, blue and flaming red striped together. That would look awesome." Morrison replied, grabbing a blue and red pencil and started drawing around the flames.

After coloring them, he takes one look and is just amazed by the amazing colorization and customized look at the guitar and said, "I would definitely make my own guitar and create the artwork."

Outside in the neighborhood, a dark black car drives its way over to one of the house and for some reason, it slowly parked its way towards Meena's house and keeps the car running. The sounds of the car opening and closing made Morrison's ears perk and soon enough, he stopped what he was doing and walked way to his window to see what's happening. He became curious as to who would want to see Meena, but then he saw a couple of guys dressed in all ninja black with chucks, ropes and a blindfold.

He had a sneaking feeling that something's up and kept a closer look and from the looks of their demeanor, he senses some trouble coming in and then he made a realization...Meena's mom and grandparents are out on the town and she's home alone next door. He then saw Meena walking downstairs to see who it was and once she answered the door, she saw a couple of guys in ninja costumes, holding a couple of weapons and in fright, she immediately shuts the door, but one of them stuck his foot on the door to stop her.

"Don't make this any tougher on yourself." one of them stated.

One grabbed her by the jacket while Meena was screaming for help and both hoods were holding her against her will and forced her into the car. Meena tried to fight them off, but one of them smacked her in the head with a crowbar, in which she lets out a blood-curling scream and a very terrified Morrison just looked on in horror as he saw his next-door neighbor crush being held against her will and he sprinted out of the room to help her.

"Shut her up and shove her ass in the car!" one of the hoods exclaimed.

The two dragged her to the car, but Meena kept resisting and tried to fight them off with every effort and one of the guys came out with a camera and started livestreaming the whole thing on FaceHoof. One of the hoods said, "Are you getting this, Brad?"

"Every piece of footage!" Brad answered.

"What are you guys doing to me? How'd you find where I live?" asked Meena, very terrified.

"Shut up! This is for your own good!" another hood exclaimed.

"Get off of me!" Meena shouted.

They opened the car door and what met Meena's eyes was someone she never expected to see...when she lets out a very shocked gasp and saw the same water buffalo sitting down and he said, "Hey, Meena."

"Trevor?!" Meena exclaimed.

"Blindfold and gag that bitch." Trevor said, coldly.

"You won't get away with this! And to think that I ever had..." Meena started, but then got her eyes covered by a blindfold and shoved her mouth with tape, letting out a screaming muffle.

Morrison sprinted over outside and saw what's going on and he exclaimed, "Meena!"

Meena heard Morrison's voice and she was muffling for help, but they shoved her to the car as they held her down and shut the car door. Morrison had gotten his skateboard to chase after them as soon as the car drove off and he started riding on his skateboard to chase after them and stop them. Trevor looks at the back of the window and said, "Drive faster, Josh!"

Josh mashed the accelerator to go faster to lose Morrison's view, but not even that would deter Morrison as he went top speed and threw a rope around the back of the car, tied it around his waist and went into top speed to get closer and help Meena out. Once Meena removed the blindfold, he saw Morrison coming closer and she pounded on the door to get Morrison's attention. Trevor got stunned to see that she removed the blindfold and yanked the tape out of her mouth and she told them, "You guys will never get away with this!"

"Shut up! It serves you right to turn me down!" Trevor exclaimed.

Meena stuck her head out of the window and exclaimed, "Morrison!"

"Meena!" Morrison exclaimed.

"Call Mr. Moon and everyone else at the Moon Theater! I need help now!" Meena screamed, then got shoved back to the car and knocked her out, much to Morrison's horror.

Just then, the car stopped into a red light and Morrison went shin first into the back of the car, but one of his mini GPS tracking devices somehow got into the rear of the car to track down their every move. Just then, one of the guys got out of the car and sliced the rope down in half and got back in the car as soon as the light turned green. As the car drives off, Morrison got himself up and saw the car drive out and he panted heavily with much trepidation for Meena's safety.

"Meena..." Morrison panted.

With the GPS tracker down the bumper, it got connected straight to his phone as he saw the car moving on the graphic maps and one the way to the destination to the woods. He immediately send a group text to his school friends, skater friends and his former track teammates to meet him at the front of the Moon Theater to gather themselves on a rescue mission as he made his way to the theater.

Several minutes later, he skateboarded his way over to the Moon Theater and quickly ran inside to find everyone there and he immediately burst through the doors of the auditorium where he saw everyone on the stage and they turned around to see a breathless, frantic Morrison coming in and Buster looked at him and asked, "Morrison, what's going on?"

"No time...Meena...got kidnapped." Morrison replied, panting heavily.

"What? Kidnapped?" asked Rosita, in shock.

"Yeah, she got taken away from some hoods at her house and drove out to someone's car and took her somewhere." Morrison replied.

Everyone became super concerned for Meena and couldn't imagine someone kidnapping her unannounced. Johnny then asked, "Do you know where they took her?"

"I had stuck a tiny little GPS tracking device on the back of the car and it shows a map connected to my phone that shows where they're going and from the looks of it, they're heading towards the wooded area outside of town." Morrison answered.

"Meena's never had enemies before and I can't imagine someone doing something terrible to such a kind soul." Rosita stated.

"Ja, we've got to find those flugenshnapps!" Gunter exclaimed.

Everyone was just confused on what Gunter just said, but they knew he has a point and Ash said, "We're coming with you, Morrison."

"Thanks!" Morrison exclaimed.

"Did you call the police yet?" asked Buster.

"I'm gonna do that right now." Morrison replied, getting on the phone with 911.

After several minutes of Morrison calling 911, he saw a notification popping on his FaceHoof that says 'Meena is broadcasting live' and when he turned on the notification, he saw someone filming the encounter as it's happening in real time and one of the guys said, "Trevor, tell us what's the plan?"

Trevor scoffs at this and he looked directly into the camera and said, "You know what we're gonna do, Brad...we're gonna teach my girlfriend a little lesson about what happens when you reject the hottest guy in school."

"Just as we did with the other girls, right? That came before her?" asked Brad.

The revelation that came out was shocking to hear from them, especially Morrison to not only hear but see as well and them admitting it like it was a day at a ball game as Trevor said, "All those other girls had it coming when they try to break up with me or reject me. They could never find the bodies we buried, mutilated or even burned other than our usual place in the woods."

"Yep, no one would ever find us!" Brad exclaimed.

"This is a really bad idea, you guys. Shouldn't we let her go?" asked Josh.

"Hey, your job is to be our driver and the lookout. You can't make the decisions here! And plus, we'll never get in trouble because we will not get caught." Trevor stated.

Morrison has seen and heard enough and just shut off the livestream, leaving a huge scary taste in their mouths and Ash said, "I can't believe that we have a psychotic athlete at our school."

"And to think we were teammates." Morrison muttered.

"We've got to stop him and save Meena." Johnny added.

Everyone agreed and everyone except for Buster, Eddie and Ms. Crawley headed out of the auditorium and as they left the theater, they were surprised to see some of Morrison's back-up crew coming in the front and one of his skating crew said, "We came as soon as we got the message."

"That was fast. How long have you guys been standing there?" asked Morrison.

"Like, 10 minutes." Milo answered.

"Rodrick was supposed to come over with the van, so that we can all find this sleazeoid and save your girlfriend." Mickey replied.

"Who's Rodrick?" asked Rosita.

Just then, the horn honks and there's this big van coming in to the Moon Theater and parked right in front and the windows rolled down and here comes this 17-year old huge gorilla, weighs at 245 pounds, stands at 6'7, dark silver fur a spiky top on his head, wears tan tank top with camo shorts and wears a black and yellow striped beanie on his head and dark shades and he hops out of the van and he looks at Morrison and said, "Sup, Mo?"

"What up, Big Rod?" asked Morrison.

"Caught the livestream and I have a feeling that Trevor's gonna do his crazy murder antics again." Rodrick answered.

"Um, Rodrick...what exactly are those antics?" asked Johnny.

"I'll explain everything on the way. Let's hit the road!" Rodrick answered.

Everyone piled in on the van as the others headed to their respected vehicles, but before they took off...Morrison saw his brother come in with his dune buggy and he asked, "Vince, what are you doing here?"

"Hey, I saw the livestream and I figured that you'd save your crush before she gets crushed. You might need some help from your big bro." Vincent added.

Morrison smiled at this and he hopped in on the buggy and he pulled out his phone, looked at his GPS tracking system and sees that they're parked on the wooded area and are giving him the directions as to where they're parked at and he said, "Here we come, Meena."

* * *

The rescue is beginning! There will be more action coming up soon!


	26. Another Side of Trevor

Trevor's fully evil display is being shown for Meena to see...

* * *

Chapter 26: Another Side of Trevor

Meena groans as she wakes up and finds herself in a wooded area and when she sees herself in the woods and found herself shackled and chained up all over. She struggled to get herself free from those shackles so that she'd go home, but that proved to be a difficult task to do so and she tried with all her might to get herself unchained, but then...

"You know Trevor's not letting you go, right?"

Meena turns around and sees Brad standing on of the trees with his camera capturing every move and she said, "Where's Trevor? How did I get here? I have to go home."

"You ain't got no place to go home to now. Everything you say and do are held against you." Brad replied.

Meena noticed that he's filing everything and got disgusted that he would go so low as to document everything and asked, "Why are you filming this?'

"Trevor's idea. He wanted to make you suffer and what better way to do so than having everyone's favorite singer at the stupid theater take her final agonizing hours on this earth than at the hands of your should've been boyfriend had you done a single thing he said...to the entire world?" Brad said, chuckling at the last part.

"You're a sick person." Meena said, completely disgusted.

"Flattery ain't getting you anywhere." Brad added, mocking her.

Just then, all the lights were surrounding her and most of those were car headlights all shining at her and Meena just shielded herself from all the brightness and she exhaled sharply as she heard some footsteps coming in slowly and in a slightly huskier silhouette figure, right in front of Meena and he said, "So...here we are. Isn't it ironic that we're together like this where I got you right where I want you?"

"Trevor?" asked Meena, shuddering.

Then, the car lights dimmed and it was revealed to be Trevor with that black hooded ninja outfit he's donning and came close to her and said, "I'm never one to be rejected easily because most girls would wish they'd have a hot, muscular, rich boyfriend like me and everyone in the whole school would be so jealous. We could've had a popular future together! But no...you just had to reject me even when I offered a second chance."

"Trevor, I don't want to be your girlfriend! You weren't the guy I thought you were!" Meena exclaimed.

"Wrong! It's not over until I say it's over! YOU DON'T TELL ME IT'S OVER, YOU DUMB BITCH!" Trevor roared.

Meena became fed up with this as she struggles to get herself free from those chains and she said, "You can't call me anything you want to call me because I know I'm not!"

"Man...you're so obnoxious. You're not the first girl that I tortured after rejection of my affection." Trevor added.

Suddenly, Meena became disturbed and shocked by that revelation that this is not Trevor's first time doing this to other girls and asked, "What do you mean?"

* * *

Meanwhile

"It's true. Trevor and his crew were responsible for the disappearances and/or murders of several high school girls and even college students over a span of two and a half years." Rodrick added.

"Seriously?" asked Morrison, through FaceTime.

"Dead serious. Any girl who rejects his advances; whether it's a one time question or even an offer to be the rich hot girlfriend would get a severe punishment. It can go as far as holding someone against their will for several days, imprison them in a wooden, abandoned house all shackled and chained, beaten, viciously attacked, tied up, gagged, even going as further as forcing themselves on the girl. Whoever rejected those advances or try to escape would get killed, buried, set on fire or even slice off their bodies and bury them as well." Rodrick answered.

Morrison and Vincent were just disturbed to hear the graphic, explicit details of what Trevor would do if each girl rejected his proposal to different girls to be her boyfriend and Vincent asked, "How do you know all about this?"

"One of my sister's friends from college was among the missing victims and how I figured out it was Trevor was because of social media. One of his friends would pull out their phones and spend all of their unlimited data documenting this sickening crime under their group alias 'Revenge Avengers Squad', hoping that the police would never find out and maybe that they'll keep it quiet and let the case grow cold so that they'll do the same crime again." Rodrick added.

"Have you went to school with Trevor?" asked Rodrick.

"Sadly, yes. He would never disclose it with me, but I always keep a distance from him because I knew he did it. It was just his demeanor, body language and all around twisted lies he always tells. It's ironic because he looks at posers as fakers when in actuality, he's the poser himself." Rodrick answered.

"So...if those girls got targeted by Trevor..." Morrison stated.

"...then, the same thing will happen to Meena." Johnny said, in the background.

And soon enough, the livestream broadcast showcases Meena getting brutally tackled, spat on and whipped as she tried to escape from Trevor and his group of punks, but she never stood a chance against them and their beating kept getting much worse with many comments floating around saying 'This isn't right!', to 'You guys should be arrested!' and 'I'm calling 911 on you guys for tormenting his poor girl!'

"Are we almost there?" asked Morrison.

"Yeah, we're getting close." Vincent added.

Vincent punched the brakes of the buggy to go faster to catch up with the GPS tracker and even though the car has stopped, it doesn't mean that the tracker is inactive. They knew that they're nearing closer and closer to where they could be and Morrison was hoping that Meena will get out of there.

* * *

Back at the woods

Meena lets out several blood-curling screams as she got pummeled, beaten and thrown against the trees all while Brad is filming this on his FaceHoof livestream, totally ignoring the fact that several 911 threats were being said on the comments and even pleading those guys to stop and the cameraman to stop recording. Brad was too busy laughing to enjoy the evil activity taking place, however...the only guy to really hold out on this was Josh.

Josh was just sitting in his car, just looking at Meena being tortured and humiliated in front of these guys and he's just feeling helpless and guilty to not do anything to stop them because he's afraid of what Trevor would do to him. Not that he's thinking about himself, he did think about Meena and how awful he would feel is this girl's life would end in such a brutal and demeaning way and it's really difficult to see this happening before his eyes.

"Stop it, please!" Meena screamed, while being attacked.

"Oh, now you want to listen to me? You should've thought of that before you said no to me! Now you're gonna get yours!" Trevor said, punching Meens straight to the face.

Everyone but Josh was laughing at her and Dylan said, "Brad, are you getting all this?"

"Heck yeah, man! Every last bit of it!" Brad exclaimed.

Trevor went and kicked Meena straight to the face and head hard and he decided to go to the next big thing...putting her out of his misery and her own and he stared at her in the coldest, darkest, soulless way and he told her, "Now you'll see what it feels like to live without nothing! Yes, I may have the fanciest stuff I have and I am the richest kid in the town, but when someone rejects it, everything has been taken away from me!"

"Please..." Meena said, sobbing.

Trevor then pulls out a knife from his back pocket to stab her and Meena was severely frightened by what the outcome will end up and she definitely does not want to die and she just pleaded him to spare her life and Trevor begins to raise his knife and for a few seconds, he calls out Josh, in which the gorilla reluctantly gets out of the car and walks over to Trevor.

"Finish the job." Trevor replied.

As soon as the request was spat out of Trevor's mouth, Josh then realized this time, Trevor has gone too far with this and Josh received the knife and slowly proceeded to do it, but after a few seconds when he raised his arms with knife in hand, he stopped himself as he heard Meena's cries and pleas to stop and looking at her eyes filled with tears and desperation to let her live, that really got to Josh in such a way that he just gritted his teeth i frustration, then stopped himself and lowered his arms down and said, "I can't."

Everyone was shell-shocked by Josh's refusal to finish off the task, maybe not more shocked than Trevor and he said, "Did you just say...you're not doing this?"

"I'm not gonna do it, Trevor." Josh added.

"Do you even know what you're doing?" asked Trevor, baffled and flabbergasted.

"Yes...something that I should've done a long time ago. I'm not gonna kill this girl. She has done nothing wrong to you." Josh replied, setting the knife down to the ground.

Completely miffed at Josh's defiance to carrying out the task, Trevor stared at Josh with a gamut of hate and fury and he growled out, "Fine...if you don't, I will."

Trevor then shoves Josh down to the ground and slams him to the car and he pulls out his machine gun and goes to shoot Meena dead and he said, "Goodbye, Meena."

"Please don't do this!" Meena screamed.

"This is all your fault...I lost everything because of you. Now...suffer the consequences for your actions." Trevor said, cocking the gun and as he was attempting to pull the trigger...

He got tripped on the ground and shot the gun to the air, causing a major disturbance and an unexpected turn of surprise for everyone and when Trevor turns around, he spots a spotted teenage feline coming out of the shadows and said, "Let Meena go."

"You?!" Trevor asked, in anger and shock as he saw Morrison come in unexpectedly.

Meena looked this way and she had never been so happy to see her friend come in and rescue her and whispered, "Morrison..."

* * *

Morrison and company to the rescue on the next chapter!


	27. Rescuing Meena

And now...the rescue scene begins! Cue the random action music songs!

* * *

Chapter 27: Rescuing Meena

Trevor looked up and saw Morrison standing there to stop the entire thing and he looks at the former teammate with a shocking expression and asked, "How the hell did you get here?"

"Let's just say I tracked you down with a tiny device under your car." Morrison replied, with a serious look

Trevor was stunned that no one was guarding the deepest part of the woods to prevent someone from finding out about their whereabouts so that they wouldn't be caught tormenting Meena for personal revenge and he looked at his goons and said, "Didn't I ask one of you to keep our location a secret?!"

"Sorry man, I was busy livestreaming the whole event." Brad replied, still filming with his phone.

Suddenly, Trevor just became dumbfounded by the fact that Brad is filming the event live and asked, "You're livestreaming this?!"

"Yeah, it was your idea." Brad replied.

Meena tried her best slide free from Trevor's gang and rolled her way out, but even that captured Dylan's attention and he went after her and said, "Oh, no you don't! You're not going anywhere!"

"Let her go, punk!" Morrison exclaimed.

Soon enough, Morrison found himself surrounded by Trevor and his goons and they look as if they're gonna take him out like a massive mob group and Trevor walked over to Morrison with a very devious smirk on his face and said, "Did you really think you'd come all this way to stop us and rescue Meena?"

"That's the intention. What has she ever done to you? All she wanted to do was be your boyfriend and your egotistical pride mucked it up. You don't deserve someone like Meena." Morrison said, very serious.

"That's because you ruined it for me! Thanks to you and her, I have nothing! My popularity has been damaged! Everything that I've worked for...all the popularity, the reputation of being the guy that wanted everything...in shambles! That's why every girl that ever turned me down got what they deserved! I was the one who executed them! It was MY idea to murder, kill, slaughter and bury every girl that ever refused my advantages to date me! And I was responsible for every part of it!" Trevor shouted, admitting his involvement in those crimes.

"And you thought if Meena wouldn't want you, she'd suffer the same fate as those other girls did." Morrison said, trying to make sense of it.

"Precisely. And I will not let anyone, not even you stop me!" Trevor bellowed.

Morrison shook his head and just saw Trevor's evil display come to light and he noticed that the good thing about having it all go livestream is that it'll make a good story for the news if someone caught it on a live feed and he said, "You're not gonna do anything with Meena, so you might as well just let her go."

"No! There's nine of us and only one of you." Trevor said, chuckling lightly.

"Well, we're willing to take the risk." Morrison added.

Suddenly, Trevor got confused when Morrison dropped the 'We' card and asked, "We?"

Not long afterwards, the random car headlights surrounded the goons and were taken aback by the brightness and shortly thereafter, in comes Morrison's brother Vincent, plus Morrison's skater friends, former track teammates and high school friends, plus Rodrick and the Moon Theater gang coming walking throughout the bright glares surrounding alongside Morrison and once the lights are dimmed, Trevor could see that they're all outnumbered.

"Unless you wanna surrender right now, give us back Meena and we'll all go on our separate ways." Morrison stated, with his arms folded.

"Why don't you stick a melon on your balls?" asked Trevor, in a state of defiance.

Knowing that Trevor and his gang refused to back down, Morrison knew that this is gonna be a long drawn-out confrontation, but whatever it takes to save Meena from them and Morrison responded, "Have it your way."

"Attack!" Trevor shouted, getting his weapons out.

Trevor and his goons went in for the attack on Morrison and his crew, but half of Morrison's skater friends grabbed ahold of one of them and did a kung-fu move on them by flipping them on their sides and bashing them on their heads, straight into a tree. Afterwards one of Trevor's bonus goons brought in some knives and swords to assassinate one of them, but they found themselves pricked in the face.

"What the heck?" Chester exclaimed.

"What's with the spiky things on my face?" asked Dylan.

"Bet you can't feel your face with it." Ash said, standing right above them on a tree branch.

Chester snarled at he looked at Ash on the tree and said, "You are so dead!"

"Hands off my future girlfriend!" Mickey exclaimed, tripping them on the legs and on the ground.

Mickey dusted himself off, only to receive an annoyed glare from Ash about the whole girlfriend tagline and she said, "Really?"

"Hey, it could happen." Mickey answered.

Meanwhile, Morrison, Milo and Johnny tended to Meena as Morrison tried to unlock the chains using his claws to set her free, but during the attempt, they got fired by laser guns by some of Trevor's back-up guys to prevent this from happening, but somehow, Johnny flipped them down and punched them out hard that they were soaring through the air. That completely stunned Milo and Morrison to see that happen and Milo said, "Dude..."

"Johnny, you could make a great wrestler." Morrison said, chuckling in amazement.

"It was nothing, really." Johnny responded.

Brad kept on documenting the events that occurred, but keeps his focus on defending Trevor and keeping an eye on Meena in case she escapes, but as he's filming, he became totally unaware that people are commenting that they've already called police and will be on their way to arrest those that tortured this poor girl and are rooting for these random strangers to stop them in their tracks. Trevor fights off the others as he sees his opportunity to gain control of Meena, only to be stopped by Gunter and Mike.

"Where do you think you're going, snausage dork?" asked Gunter, blocking Trevor's way.

"Move it, losers." Trevor said, snorting.

"Losers? Who you calling losers, loser?" asked Mike.

"What are you gonna do about it, you little 40's twerp?" asked Trevor, smirking.

Mike started seething after that calling out and he asked Gunter to hold his hat and he quickly got inside his body to fight him off, scurrying all over while Trevor tried to swat him out, but Mike beat him to the punch and slugged him down as he attacked him and suddenly, a tiny bottle fell out of his coatpocket in which Gunter picks it up and is shocked to see that this is poison and asked, "You were trying to poison Meena?"

Mike glares at Trevor in so much fury and asked, "Nobody messes with Jumbo over here! Nobody but me, got it?"

Trevor flicked Mike out of his shoulder and goes after Meena, but all of a sudden, in comes Mickey, Rodrick, Milo and half of Morrison's skating pals to block their way and Ziggy said, "Going somewhere, doofus?"

"Move it! I've got personal matters to tend to." Trevor exclaimed.

"Like what, dude?" asked Brandon.

"Take down Meena. She'll pay for rejecting me!" Trevor exclaimed.

"I don't see her anywhere." Mickey added.

Trevor scoffs at this and said, "You think I was born yesterday? I got her right where I want her!"

"Uh, Trev...past tense; we had her right where we want her." Dylan stated.

Trevor looks up and sees that all of the chains were being scattered on the ground and he got severely enraged that Meena's been set free and he looked at the rest of the crew and said, "I hate all of you."

"Hate won't get you anywhere." Rodrick responded.

Morrison and Johnny brought Meena out of harm's way and out of Trevor's sight as they headed towards the back of Johnny's pick-up truck to bring her out to safety before they get caught and Meena became super grateful for this rescue and she said, "Thank you guys for saving me."

"Think nothing of it, Meena." Morrison replied.

"I'm not too big on the back of your truck, am I, Johnny?" asked Meena.

"Hey, how about you get on the back of my van instead? There's a lot more room there." Rodrick suggested, coming this way.

"Sounds like a good idea." Johnny answered.

Suddenly, bullets came flying out of nowhere and everyone ducked down so that they wouldn't get hit and soon enough, in comes Trevor and crew coming in to get at Meena and finish the job and Trevor shouted, "Get the girl! I want to have her all to myself to put her out of my misery!"

"I think you have a better chance at getting punched out cold." Morrison added.

All of Morrison's friends, plus half of the Moon Theater crew banded together alongside Meena to protect her and Ash said, "When you mess with Meena, you mess with one of us."

"You think I could care less? She'll pay for turning me down! She's gonna join the same remains as the other girls that rejected me, buried underground!" Trevor spat out.

"Buried underground?" everyone asked.

"Wait...what other girls?" asked Rosita.

"Forget it! We'll never spill the beans that Trevor and all of us are responsible for the disappearance, murder, burning and severing the bodies of these girls that have turned him down and buried them in this area!" Chester exclaimed.

"You did what?!" Johnny asked, in disbelief.

"That's right! Every remains of their bodies are buried underneath your feet!" Chester replied, then got slapped by Trevor.

"Shut up, big mouth! You want us to get caught?" asked Trevor.

Trevor went to Meena and just sucker-punched her in the face and bashed her face with a baseball bat multiple times and the others went ahead to torture her even further, but Morrison and Rodrick stopped them in their tracks and slammed them down to the ground. Morrison exclaimed, "Run, Meena!"

Meena immediately ran away from Trevor to get to safety, but Trevor chased after her with a knife to finish her off, totally unaware that a news chopper is following their move while the camera captures every movement that happens right in the moment. Meena runs as further as possible, but Trevor got closer to her and grabbed her by the jacket and thrashed her down to the ground with the knife raising up to her.

Meena panted and whimpered in fear as to what Trevor's gonna do to her, all the while he's laughing maniacally and said, "You reject me...now you'll join in the other girls who have done the same thing! Consider this your own punishment!"

Meena closed her eyes to shield herself from being killed, but somehow...Trevor got tased from behind and is warbling violently to the ground to find that there's Josh, shooting his taser at Trevor. Meena looks up and sees that Josh stopped him straight in his tracks and Josh said, "Run."

Meena didn't even think twice and just ran off and united back with her friends and everyone embraced her, including Morrison who hugged her tightly and asked, "You okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine...thanks to you all." Meena said, happily.

"Mind if we break up the reunion? We still have unfinished business to tend to!" Chester exclaimed.

Morrison snarls at them and looks directly to those goons in the eye and said, "It's either leave Meena alone or go for round two!"

"I will never accept defeat! Not until I kill Meena!" Trevor shouted.

Just then, distant police sirens were heard from a distance, which alarmed Trevor and his gang and asked, "Police? How did they find us here?"

"And what's with the chopper hovering us?" asked Brad, raising his phone to the air, still on livestream mode.

"Brad, shut off the camera!" Dylan exclaimed.

Brad finally shut off the livestream feed, but the deed was done; everything Brad captured is now live for the world to see and one of the news chopper men exclaimed on the microphone, "To someone who livestreamed this activity, you've made news."

That didn't sit well with Trevor one bit, plus Brad and the group as they found out that everything they had done, including Trevor admitting their crimes were all live for the city to see and Trevor exclaimed, "BRAD, YOU IDIOTHOLE!"

"Looks like it's our cue to exit out." Morrison replied.

"And to those that put an end to this whole thing, you're completely making news now!" another news chopper man exclaimed.

"Or we're in the news." Mike stated.

"That was unexpected." Milo added.

* * *

How awesome was the action? Next up, the aftermath!


	28. Safe and Sound

And the aftermath of the whole matter...

* * *

Chapter 28: Safe and Sound

The entire wooded area were surrounded by cops and patrol cars as most of the officers made several arrests with the exception of Josh because he had left the group behind before the cops even got there and as this was happening, Meena felt relieved that all of this was over before any damage would come her way and as soon as the cops took Trevor into custody, he took one cold glance at Meena and got into the back of the squad car and Morrison walks over to Meena and asked, "You okay?"

Meena looked at Morrison in the eye and she was clearly appreciative of coming out to rescue her as the rest of the Moon Theater crew went in for her support and she felt even more grateful than ever and she said, "I don't know how I ever had friends like you guys."

"Thank Morrison. It was him that brought us to save you." Rosita added.

Morrison is never one to take the credit or be recognized for something he did; he just did what anyone would do if someone they knew so closely were in any trouble and she looked at Morrison and said, "Thank you so much, Morrison."

"What you did was very cool." Ash said, smiling.

"Ja! Zat vas very cool indeed!" Gunter exclaimed.

"You're a hero, mate." Johnny added.

"Yeah, kid...you're one of a kind." Mike stated.

That comment from Mike literally surprised Rosita the most and she said to Mike, "Wow...is that you, Mike? Did you say an actual kind word about someone?"

"Only to him, porky." Mike shot back in response.

Rosita rolled her eyes and said, "And he's back."

"It's just...I saw you in trouble when Trevor and those goons took you from your house and I just...I don't know. I just reacted on instinct. I just didn't want anything to happen to you, so I..." Morrison responded, but Meena came over and gave him a huge hug.

Morrison froze for a second after feeling Meena's hug and evidentally, he gave into the hug and hugged her back as well, just happy that she's okay now and Meena said, "Only a true neighbor could do what you just did for me."

"We're all in this together." Morrison replied.

"Yeah, when one of us gets in trouble, we help them out a lot...even to those that either don't deserve it or who gets themselbves into trouble in the first place." Johnny stated.

"I second zat emotion!" Gunter replied.

Just then, several of Morrison's high school friends and skate friends came forward and Meena found herself surrounded by them, each of them who care much for her because of Morrison and Milo said, "Morrison's got a good heart and he's always there to help someone when they need it."

"Meena? Whoever's a friend of Morrison is a friend of ours. Plus, you and your theater friends know how to kick some serious tail! You and the rest of them are an honorary member of the Sk8erdudez Clique." Mickey added.

"Sk8erdudez Clique?" asked Rosita.

"It's an idea me, Ziggy and Mickey formed while we were at the same middle school before some of them went to a private high school. We're still tight to this day as we skate and things like that." Morrison replied.

As the conversation keeps going, they saw a couple of news crews coming in to see Morrison and one of them asked him to interview him and as Morrison accepts, Meena and the rest of them were given separate ones; most as defenders and witnesses to the whole thing. Soon afterwards, another car pulls up and out comes Meena's mother and grandparents running by to see if Meena's okay and once her mom saw Meena there, she exclaimed, "Meena!"

Meena turns around and she sees her mother and she said, "Mom!"

She immediately runs over to her mother and both of them hugged each other as her mother started crying in joy and relief that her baby girl is okay and her mother said, "I saw what happened at the news! Are you hurt?"

"No, mom. I'm fine." Meena replied.

"Where is that boy that did this to you? Nobody messes with my baby!" Meena's mother exclaimed.

One of the officers went to Meena's mother and he asked, "Are you the victim's mother?"

"Yes, I am. Where's that boy that did this to her? Cause I'm about to whoop somebody's ass up in here!" Meena's mother exclaimed.

"Mom..." Meena said, a little embarrassed.

"Let's hope no one caught that on tape." Vincent said, in a hushed voice.

"If it didn't, it'd make one heck of a viral video." Morrison retorted.

After just 10 minutes of covering this story, everyone in the news crew headed out of the forest as well as the police as they got Trevor and his crew arrested and content that Meena's safe and sound, she goes home with her family and everyone else went to their separate ways to head home, each thanking them for saving Meena and left the wooded area and headed back to the city to head home.

For Morrison, saving his neighbor crush really confirms his true crush for her as it expanded further and Vincent looks at his brother and said, "I'm proud of you, bro."

"Thanks, Vin. That means a lot coming from you." Morrison said, appreciatedly.

"Yeah, just don't make a big deal out of it, otherwise I'll post a vid of you dancing in your underwear on FaceHoof." Vincent said, smirking.

Morrison dropped his jaw and didn't realize that his brother secretly filmed him dancing in his underwear and said, "You did what?"

Vincent laughs at this and Morrison said, "Oh, I'll deal with you when we get home."

* * *

And just how much of this rescue will be known across town? You'll see next!


	29. Headlines Overnight

We get to see Morrison's heroics becoming noticed in ways he never expected...

* * *

Chapter 29: Headlines Overnight

As soon as Vincent and Morrison made it back to the house, Vincent parked his dune buggy to the garage as the brothers walked through the door, took their sneakers off and headed upstairs to their rooms, but as they were heading upstairs, they found themselves on the glare of their parents who were sitting on the couch and Vincent said, "Hey, guys. Were we late?"

"No, you're not late at all. We just got a text from someone in our neighborhood that you guys are gonna be on the 10:00 news in about 5 minutes." the mother said.

Then it hit them...whatever had happened between Morrison and Trevor will be seen for the news in the whole neighborhood to see and probably the entire town and that it'll be talked about the next day and Morrison asked, "Are we in trouble?"

"We've seen the live breaking news coverage throughout the evening when it was shown on those live choppers that looks like you were fighting off someone that tried to do some harm to Meena. We've seen that horrendous live FacePawHook video of what these poor boys were doing to Meena and also you protecting her and fighting him off. So, you tell us which one of you is in trouble." the father added.

Then, the realization hit that neither of them were gonna be in any trouble for being on the news on their good deed, even if it meant almost risking their lives on the line doing so and for Morrison, he felt a sense of fulfillment that he had just rescued his neighbor crush from imminent danger and Vincent playfully punches his brother's arm and he said, "My little brother, the hero."

"Oh, shut up Vince." Morrison said, jokingly.

* * *

5 minutes later

Vincent came downstairs with just his basketball shorts and tank top while Morrison walks right behind him with just some basketball shorts and an athletic tank top as they headed to the living room as the 10:00 local news comes on as they sat with their parents. Morrison became super anxious about how all of this is gonna turn out, not to mention how it'll be like when he comes to school tomorrow as soon as this piece even airs or re-airs on the morning news.

"It's 10:00 this evening, thank you for staying up with us. We're gonna get to our top story tonight; arrests have been made for 5 juveniles charged with attempted murder, attempted assault, false imprisonment, torture, kidnapping and concealing evidence on the missing students' remains in this wooded area where the activity had taken place." the news anchor announced.

As they were all looking at the footage that was shot on the news chopper on Trevor and his goons torturing Meena, the parents couldn't help but feel so sorrowful for Meena to have been through that horrible experience and Morrison was just relieved that nothing worse had happened, but having to see that footage for the first time, he just couldn't imagine what could've happened had they had continued doing what they had done and was just glad he was there in time to stop this.

"Several of the juveniles, lead by this high school student Trevor was responsible for the torture, kidnapping and assault inflicted upon Meena, one of the performers on the recently refurbished Moon Theater. According to this livestream video on FacePawHoff, filmed by one of the juveniles, 4 of them were involved in the assault as well as several others from the ringleader's group of friends on a local social media group called 'Rich Rebels Revenge Mafia', started by the ringleader himself. Luckily, amongst this horrible experience, there were some saviors there to stop this crime. A young high schooler named Morrison and his group of friends, plus those from the Moon Theater had went in to save one of their own." the news reporter added.

"How it actually happened...I was in my room, drawing guitars and I saw some dudes pull up on Meena's house. Right away, I could see something wasn't quite right here. When I saw that they were kidnapping her, my instincts had kicked in immediately and I had to save her." Morrison stated.

"And how he was able to track them down? Using a tiny device planted on the back of the ringleader's car as he went after them." the news reporter added.

"I managed to get a couple of these GPS trackers that looks like buttons, but have magnets on them and I placed it on the back of the car, like the bumper or something and I was able to track where they are on my phone, which led me to where they were so that we can stop them and save Meena." Morrison replied.

"That little device was enough to bring into attention to not only him, but also to police who had witnessed the pre-activities took place via livestream on FacePawHoof." the news reporter added.

"Per our investigation, one of our officers saw this livestream video of this young girl being tortured by these young men and when you look at it, it is just one of the most horrific videos we've seen so far of many crimes. Out of all of those I've seen, this one has to be on top of the list. If it wasn't for that livestream video and someone planting a GPS tracking device on that car, this crime would never have been solved and this young lady could've been dead because of it." one police officer added.

"Officer McHorn had also heard a bombshell admission from one of the juveniles while the livestream was recorded that included their involvement on a case that had went cold for some time." the news reporter added.

"We've also heard that they had brought up doing the same type of activities where some of these young ladies that the perpetrator went to school with and some of the girls had rejected him and his only recourse was to bring in these guys and do horrible things to them and leave their bodies or remains buried in this wooded area. He was able to lead us to where he buried them and it was enough to bring in more charges for these guys in addition to the ones they're facing tonight." McHorn added.

"On the news chopper, you can see the rescuer leaning Meena to safety alongside some of her friends from the Moon Theater and kept out of harm's way. One of the cast members and the rescuer had stated that it was the right thing to do to get Meena 'away from this creep'." the news reporter added.

"Morrison and I led her to safety and we also fought off these guys that tried to stop us and carry on doing all sorts of harm to her. I just can't imagine someone doing something so devious to her." Johnny stated.

"Yeah, I've known her for years now. She's the sweetest, kindest girl you've ever met. Never made a lot of enemies whatsoever, so I can't understand why anyone would treat her like one." Morrison responded.

"As far as Meena, she's currently back at home with her family safe and sound, her mother being absolutely grateful that her neighbor stepped in and saved her from any harm that Trevor would. There was one more person involved in this, but had stepped out of sight before the authorities came over. He did leave a note saying that 'Trevor was the ringleader in every crime he did and I was the lookout. Tonight, I didn't want to do what he wanted me to do this time and just left them hanging and helped rescue Meena.' As far as his whereabouts, it's unknown at this time, but he won't face any charges...at least for now. In a statement made by Buster Moon at the recently re-opened Moon Theater, he commended his theater cast members for their valiant efforts in rescuing Meena tonight saying quote, '...the great thing about the cast members in my theater is that they look out for each other and when something happens to one of our own, it affects us as a whole. My heart goes out to Meena and her family and are grateful for her safe return and that I'm thankful that the rest of the cast went out of their way to save Meena in the process.' As far as the juveniles tonight, they're now spending a night in a jail cell, awaiting further details as to what will occur next." the news reporter added.

After the whole thing, Morrison was just breathing a huge sigh of relief that the worst is over now and his dad said, "We're proud of you, son."

"Very proud." his mother chimed in.

"Like I said man, you're a hero." Vincent added.

Morrison humbly chuckled at this and said, "I'm no hero. I just did what anyone else could've done."

"Very true. All right, you two...it's getting late." the mom said.

Both boys got up and said their goodnights to their parents as they headed upstairs and the minute they did so, Morrison pounced on Vincent and said, "All right, where's the tape?"

"Of you in your underwear? What, you want it?" asked Vincent, mockingly.

"So that I can break it to pieces." Morrison replied, still pinning him.

Vincent chuckled softly at this with a smirk and answered, "Wanna arm wrestle for it?"

"Aren't we getting too old for this?" asked Morrison, exasperatedly.

"I'll post it on the local news social media page." Vincent said, chuckling.

Shocked and annoyed by the thought of putting that video out there, he growls and said, "Oh, you're on, big bro!"

* * *

Morrison's a hero! But not even that would go over his head! Soon, the whole town will hear about it...next chapter!


	30. Unexpected Talk of the Town

And that act of heroism has been notified all over town...but how do you think Morrison is taking it?

* * *

Chapter 30: Unexpected Talk of the Town

The next morning, Morrison got himself ready for school as he came out with some khaki pants, a T-shirt with the quote 'YORO' (You Only Risk Once) and some tie-dye sneakers as he brushed his teeth, combed his fur and headed downstairs for some breakfast when he saw his siblings Vincent, Tucker, his 12-year old brother Slade and 14-year old sister Sienna along with their parents in the kitchen and he said, "Morning, guys."

"Morning, sweetie. How'd you sleep?" asked his mom.

"I slept okay for most of the night, just in pure satisfaction." Morrison replied.

"Mo, you're like a local trending topic on social media when I checked on my phone last night. It's #LocalCheetah or #HometownHero. When I got up this morning, you're an overnight online sensation! Do you know how hard it is to be a trending topic?" asked Sienna, kinda shocked by her brother's sudden popularity.

"Let me see that." Morrison replied, in disbelief.

Sienna showed Morrison her Twimmer account where every hastag or meme has come that involves him in any way and he was surprised to see this right before his eyes and it shows that what had happened last night must've caught wind for those that saw it on the late night news or in the breaking news live portion and it blew up big on FacePawHoof and that stunned him the most and said, "Everyone's been making a big deal about it, huh?"

"Yeah. Can you imagine what this will do with my squad that my brother's way more popular than me?" asked Sienna, a little fearful.

Vincent scoffs at this as he ate some pastries and replied, "Please, that little JiffBabe has more followers than you could get in a year."

"But luckily, there's an upside. That Kenzie Marsho that I've been crushing on since biology...he texted me at 1 in the morning to see if he wants to take me out on a date." Sienna added.

"You mean the dude who you pointed to as the one that 'doesn't even know you're alive'? Why would he ask you out at 1 AM?" asked Morrison.

"For your information, Morris...he's the hottest guy in school and he's the captain of the volleyball team too. The way he flexes his muscles when he spikes the ball and he looks good in tight shorts." Sienna added.

Vincent clears his throat, aware of Tucker's presence while he's eating some cereal and he said to Sienna, "You do realize we have an 8 year old here. We don't want him to hear your girlie gibberish."

"I don't speak girlie gibberish." Tucker said, eating his cereal.

Morrison ate some waffles and an omelete while Vincent had some muffins, eggs and toast along with some honey almond roasted coffee and Vincent said, "Got to head to class today. Professor's got a lecture on currency and investing. I swear, these kinds of lectures are getting kinda boring by the minute."

"But isn't that the beauty of it though? So you can actually learn something from it and apply it later on in your career or whatever job you end up at." Morrison stated.

"Dude, you're not a college student yet." Vincent added.

"I know that. I got two or three more years. We had a college tour for our school for a career fair to see what our options are for our future careers or jobs." Morrison answered.

Vincent face-palmed himself as he realized that his college had a high school tour for career fair and said, "Sometimes, you can't keep your tongue shut."

"I see people are still talking about what you did for Meena this morning. It's even on a segment on Good Morning Animalia." his father added.

"Already?" asked Morrison.

"Nah, I'm just kidding. It's in the local news." his father replied, with a chuckle.

Morrison lets out a sarcastic chuckle and after he finished his breakfast, he waved bye to his parents as he headed out of the door and headed to school with his skateboard. As he was riding around town, he received a little bit of an unexpected attention from people that are just passing by him as they said 'hey' or congratulated him for what he did last night. Morrison became a little surprised by all this that the whole town just knew what he did and that he's a local hometown hero.

"Wonder why everyone knows me?" asked Morrison.

As he was skating, he saw an old black truck pulling up behind him and stopped and when he turned around, he saw that it was Johnny there and Morrison was surprised to see Johnny and said, "Hey, man. What's up?"

"Saw you skating and I thought that maybe you could use a lift to school." Johnny answered.

"Sure." Morrison replied, as he picks up his board, got inside the truck and soon after, they were heading off to school together and Johnny turns up the volume as the radio plays 'Closer' from The Chainsimians and as soon as Morrison heard the song, he groans in annoyance and said, "I keep hearing this song almost everyday; sporting events, parties, on the radio, on someone's phone or tablet and everywhere I go. they just keep playing that song like, 4.7 billion times a day."

"Yeah, it does get a little annoying, you know?" asked Johnny.

Luckily, the station started playing another song and from the minute he heard the piano intro, he just can't get enough of this song he had heard recently and said, "Oh man...this is my song! I love it!"

"What is it?" asked Johnny.

Morrison gasps in shock as Johnny never heard that song before and said, "Only the coolest song that ever came out; it's 'Green Light' from Lioness'de. That girl can sure sing, especially when she's not like any other cookie-cutter pop singer. I don't like those types of songs, you know? They just have no substance and no meaning whatsoever."

As Johnny was driving, he could hear the drum beat as well as the piano tempo that goes with it and starts bobbing his head to the beat and throughout the whole way to school, they were singing along to the chorus of the song and before long, Johnny's definitely liking the vibe of the song. After the song was over, Morrison said, "Hey, Johnny...thanks for all your help yesterday."

"No sweat, Morrison. Meena's like family to us at the Moon Theater. I never really thought that you would actually care that much for her like we all do." Johnny added.

"We're neighbors. We're supposed to look out for each other." Johnny added.

At every passing glance, some of the residents as well as the town were just seeing Morrison pass by and everyone waved and cheered out things to him and that was something Morrison wasn't quite used to and Johnny asked, "How come everyone in town knows your name?"

"I'm still trying to process it. Ever since what had happened last night and that it was all on the news, I'm a trending topic on social media. It's cool, but I didn't think people would catch onto it so quickly."

"Yeah, it's really unexpected, that." Johnny added.

As soon as they finally made it to school, Morrison couldn't imagine what would happen the minute he sets foot into the campus; wondering whether the students and the entire school would already know about it or if things go back to normal and everyone wouldn't notice him, but only a few people. He takes a deep breath as he gets out of the truck with Johnny and heads inside the hallways and to his surprise...

"There he is!" one student exclaimed.

Everyone knew what he had done last night and the entire school lets out a very loud cheer and round of applause as Morrison walked in and that was the last thing he expected to have happen and he said, "This is unexpected."

* * *

The reaction at school continues on! Stay tuned to see more! BTW, if you're curious about who The Chainsimians or Lioness'de are, figure them out for yourselves...but I will give you one hint; both are animal forms of the biggest artists ever!


	31. Unexpected Surprise

And here's the continuation of Morrison's reaction to being greeted at school after being on the news for taking down Trevor!

* * *

Chapter 31: Unexpected Surprise

Morrison was just stunned to see the entire school cheer as they greet him in the hallways and wondered what the ruckus was about and it didn't take long until he realized that it was about him fighting off Trevor and saving Meena from a certain tragedy that almost claimed her life with deadly force. Most of the students that don't know him or walk past him in the hallways have said 'hey' or 'what's up' to him and congratulated him on taking down Trevor and he figured that they saw the news as well. He soon saw Ash, Milo, Bryce, Caden and to his surprise, Rodrick just chatting near the locker and when they turned around to see Morrison, Milo exclaimed, "Yo! What up, man?"

"Hey, Milo. How goes?" asked Morrison, coming in to give him a fist-bump greeting.

Johnny comes by and sees Ash there and just then, Caden said, "Did you see us in the news? We're like overnight sensations!"

"I can hardly believe it also, man! I mean...imagine that we're gonna be social media stars because of that? We'd have our own followers and maybe even be on a reality show or something!" Bryce exclaimed.

Morrison chuckled as he rolled his eyes in amusement over his friends' fantasies and said, "Let's crash land back to reality for a moment. We didn't do this to get famous and recognition. We only did it because we did the right thing."

"Yeah, Morrison's right. We should keep in mind that we did teach Trevor a lesson about messing with one of our friends." Rodrick added.

Then, they realized that getting Trevor was the best thing that ever happened because of his jerky reputation and his shady temperament that they never knew existed in him and now it's been exposed for the town to see and Milo added, "Yeah, I think Trevor got what he deserved anyway. Serves him right."

"Even still, I don't know what Meena saw in that guy anyway." Ash stated.

"Maybe she thought he was perfect for him because of muscles, that bad boy persona is what drew into him. Sometimes good girls like the bad boys, not knowing how bad he can be if you're ever around him long enough until you find out that he's not the perfect guy he claims to be." Rodrick added.

"The important thing is that we brought Meena back home safe and sound and Trevor's where he needs to be." Morrison stated.

"You're right. We gave him such a good what for last night; him and his little rich goons." Milo agreed.

"And Johnny...I had no idea you had this fighting streak in you. I always thought you were a gentle giant." Ash said, surprised.

Johnny blinked his eyes a couple of times and replied, "I still am. It's just when someone threatens someone I care about, I will defend them in any way possible."

"And it showed last night, dude. You ought to be on the wrestling team, man." Caden exclaimed.

Johnny chuckled softly at this and said, "No, that's quite all right, man."

"Dude, you got the muscles for it! Between you and Rodrick, you could make quite a team or opponent; whichever comes first." Caden added.

"Nah, nah, nah...I couldn't fight with this guy here." Rodrick added.

"Did they give any kind of updates on Trevor and his goons?" asked Ash.

"No, not quite. But I'm sure there might be some updates soon." Morrison answered.

Several of them headed towards their respected classes and as Morrison walked in, he saw Meena sitting in class already and he comes over and sits down next to her seat and he said, "Hey, Meena."

"Hi, Morrison." Meena said, cheerfully.

Just hearing Meena's cheerful voice made Morrison's heart melt further and he just sighed softly and replied, "That's good to hear."

"Mo, I want to thank you for what you've done for me yesterday. It really means a lot. I just never thought that you'd do everything you did to save me." Meena added.

"Well...I saw you in trouble and I...I don't know. I just didn't want anything to happen to you and how awful I would've felt if Trevor had done more harm to you had I not stopped this." Morrison added, a little nervous but caring.

For Meena, it seems as though the signs of him having a crush on her shows right in front of her; admiring her, being a little speechless, putting her needs above his own and his awkwardness was showcased right there and then, but even more so is his humility and selflessness. She then told him, "It shows that you care a lot."

"I do." Morrison blurted out, then forze for a minute to realize that he said it right in front of her, then turns around in embarrassment.

Meena could absolutely tell that Morrison's got a crush on her and it took her a minute to see that it's true and genuine and it seems as though her true admirer was right in front of her the entire time. She just didn't know it because she was focused more on Trevor and thought that he was it, but it turned out to be not the case. She secretly had a crush on Morrison at one point, but didn't want to screw their friendship up over that, but after the events of yesterday...she felt the same exact way about Morrison as Morrison feels about her.

"It's okay, Morrison. I'm just glad you were there for me." Meena added.

Morrison turned around and added, "Me too."

Both of them were smiling at each other and just stared for a little while before the bell rings and class was about to start and of course, Morrison's heroics didn't come unnoticed as soon as the principal made some morning announcements to start off the day and as soon as Morrison heard it, he lets out a soft sigh and didn't want to make too much of a big deal out of it. But it did feel good to do the right thing and be recognized for it...at least for a short while.

* * *

Do I sense a bit of chemistry between Morrison and Meena? You'll find out later on! BTW, it's not the end of the story!


	32. Updates on Trevor

Ever after the unexpected notoriety, Morrison doesn't make a big deal about it; still remains humble as ever! Now where does that go for Trevor?

* * *

Chapter 32: Updates on Trevor

It was after school as Morrison was skating at the skate park with some of his skater friends as they all tore up on the halfpipe, grinding on the railings and showing off the extraordinary moves and some of his friends were just cheering him on and he became like a rock star pro when he did his darest move to date; a triple corkscrew jump where he soared high in the air while holding his board in the air and then landing on his feet in quick time with no injury. Everyone was cheering loudly and Morrison chuckled softly as he turned around and gave him a thumbs-up, indicating he's okay.

"Dude, that was freaking awesome!" Mickey exclaimed.

"Bro, you killed it! Like, straight up!" Marshall agreed.

Morrison chuckled softly and skated in close to his friends and sat down on the pavement with them as they were talking about his amazing moves and during that conversation, Jackson blurted out, "We saw ya on the newspaper, dude."

"Newspaper?" Morrison asked, very shocked.

"Yep! Let me get into my phone real quick." Jackson said, pulling out his phone to find this newspaper article about what happened last night.

Morrison was pondering on how he became part of the newspaper until Jackson finally found the local newspaper on his phone and Jackson chortles slyly and said, "You made the front page, dude."

"What!?" Morrison asked, in shock.

"What?" everyone else but Jackson asked, very surprised.

Jackson then shows Morrison and crew what's on the front page and they saw his picture there alongside the picture of what had transpired from last night and suddenly...it him him. What he had done to save Meena became huge news, which is pretty much unheard of...at least in Morrison's perspective. Reality sunk in right there and then as his heroics became well known across the town and he just chuckled softly and said, "Wow...that's something."

"Local high-schooler saves next door neighbor. Last night, a local high schooler among many others, including the entire theater group at the Moon Theater rescues one of the Moon Theater's rising theater cast members from certain death caused by another high schooler and his group of friends and a few unidentified extras at a wooded area away from the city limits last night. The motives from the ringleader's reason to torture this young girl is still unknown to police at this time, but thanks to incriminating evidence via FacePawHoof livestream in which one of the group members had apparently filmed during the 2 hour ordeal that they're identified as juveniles and are arrested for attempted murder, aggravated assault, torture, false imprisonment and endangering a minor. But that's not the only shocking matter in the case; during the video, some of them had admitted on camera that they were also responsible for several other disappearances of other young girls that go to the same school as the ringleader and some of them had lead to the bodies that were buried underground. In addition to the charges they'll face for yesterday's crime, they're looking at more additional charges for those innocent victims which will be announced at a later time when they make their court appearance. The rescuer is identified as a 16-year old cheetah named Morrison who had first witnessed her neighbor, a 16-year old elephant named Meena being abducted by the ringleader's crew and held her against her will. But Morrison found a way to track down the suspects with the use of a tiny little GPS button on one of the suspect's car and him along with several other friends gathered in to follow where they're going and save the young elephant from peril; preventing a much tragic ending." Jackson said, reading.

Mickey just elbowed Morrison in excitement noting that he's like the biggest thing ever happened and Jackson said to Morrison, "Dude, you've made it big."

"You guys were there too. It's not all me, we all did it together." Morrison added.

"Hey, yeah...that's right. We all did, didn't we?" asked Marshall, remembering when they all rescued Meena.

"We've almost forgotten about that." Milo added.

"We definitely kicked Trevor's butt! The nerve of that guy coming up here to out your girl!" Mickey responded.

"My girl?" asked Morrison, in shock.

"Meena? Big elephant, has an awesome singing voice that literally brought down the stage, remember?" asked Marshall.

"We're still just friends. Don't get any ideas." Morrison said, looking at them cock-eyed.

Mickey chuckled at that notion that Morrison knows that him and Meena are still friends, but he knows Morrison way better than anyone and that's usually when he says that they're 'just friends', it's simply a code excuse for she's 'my future girlfriend, but don't want to go above the friend zone' thing and he said, "Whatever, man."

All jokes and quips aside, they're all glad to have Trevor out of their hair for good now that he's paying for his sins and got what he deserves and then some and Morrison is deeply appreciative of his friends to step in and help them out together and Morrison said, "I seriously wanna thank you guys for helping me yesterday. It really means a lot that you'd be able to help Meena."

"Hey, man...no one messes with our friend and his neighbor crush. When someone messes with one of our own, they're messing with all of us. It's like the sacred skater dudez code." Ziggy added.

"Very true." Morrison replied.

Just then, in comes Mike, Johnny, Gunter and Ash entering in the skate park much to Morrison's surprise and he turned around to see them come in and he said, "Hey, what you guys doing here?"

"Johnny led us here to see you. I gotta say, I could come here almost every day." Ash said, looking around the place.

"Would you really?" asked Sammy, very surprised.

"Yep." Ash answered.

Morrison looks at them and asked, "What you guys doing here?"

"To see you. Thought maybe I'd get my skating fix before we head to the Moon Theater." Johnny answered.

"Ja, ja! I would like to see Johnny skate and I would be his cheerleader." Gunter responded.

Mike blinked his eyes at that logic that Gunter pointed out and asked, "You, cheerleading? Why should you do that?"

"Oh, just watch and see." Gunter replied, unveiling his signature red unitard and played 'This is How We Do' from Kitty Persian as Johnny starts skating around the half-piper all while Gunter is dancing and showcasing his cheerleading moves.

Most of Morrison's skater friends couldn't believe what had just occurred to see Gunter dancing in his flamboyant fashion and Jackson looks at Ash and said, "How do you not find this weird?"

"It's just how Gunter rolls." Ash replied.

As the song played on, Gunter made some cheerleading shouts all while Johnny freestyled his skating into extremes, which captured everyone's attention and made everyone's jaw drop, even shocking Mike and Ash. As Johnny did an aerial backflip and corkscrew as he skated across the halfpipe and grinded on the railings without incident and sticks the landing.

"Oh snap!" everyone exclaimed.

Ash's jaw dropped and Mike was flabbergasted as to how he's so good at this and he said, "How'd you do that?"

"I've had some practicing at the skating rink a few times before." Johnny said, chuckling humbly.

Ziggy smiled at this and turned to Morrison and said, "You've got some competition on your hands."

"Nah, we cool." Morrison added.

Jimmy-Jax looks at Ash and Mike and said, "I bet you guys can't skate as half as good as either Morrison or Johnny."

"I don't skate." Ash added.

Mike seemed poised to think that all of this is just weird and a little wack and said, "Do you youngsters have a lot of things better to do than just ride around a pile of wood with wheels all day?"

"Sounds like we got a hater here. The reason you're bagging on us is that you don't skate...or may you're just too 'chicken and mouse' to even give it a shot, old timer." Jimmy-Jax stated.

That one comment brought Mike to his nerve point as the group lets out a collective 'ooooooh' and that was enough for Mike to pause, turn around with the most competitive look on his face and said, "What did you just call me?"

"You heard me." Jimmy-Jax added.

"I bet you I can skate a lot better than you." Mike exclaimed.

"Prove it." Jimmy-Jax responded, popping out a mini-skateboard from his pocket and sets it down for Mike.

Mike chuckles at this as he steps his foot on the board and asked, "How hard could that little stick on wheels be?"

Morrison brought out his phone and sets it on camera and begins filming this and said, "This is gonna be good."

After just 10 minutes of seeing Mike stumble, fall and trip himself up each and every chance he gets on the board and parts of the half-pipe, Morrison just couldn't stop filming and laughing at the same time and said, "This is a prime example of what not to do when you try to skate for the first time."

Mike dusts himself off a few times and takes the brunt of those scrapes and he groans at the fact that his suit was a little banged up and said, "I just had this suit dried cleaned!"

"Well, Mike...anything to say about this experience?" asked Jimmy-Jax.

"Just one thing; I'm sticking to singing!" Mike exclaimed.

Jimmy-Jax chuckled sly-like, then inadvertedly said, "I hope someone got this on camera."

Suddenly, Jimmy-Jax turned around and saw Morrison filming on his camera and his wish suddenly came true and said, "You got it all on film?! Sweet, man! My wish came true!"

"I'm gonna post this on my InstaHowl!" Morrison exclaimed.

Mike somehow overheard this and he grew both shocked and furious to hear that his first-time skateboard foul-up is gonna be on the internet for all to see and shouted, "You'd better not post it anywhere!"

"How do you guys deal with this little hothead?" asked Mikey.

"We try our best." Ash replied.

"Yep, Mike will be Mike." Johnny agreed.

Morrison noticed that both Mike's have the same name and he began thinking about something to avoid confusion with one of them and he turned to Mikey and said, "Hey, I got a new name for ya...M-Ki."

"Why M-Ki?" asked Mikey.

"Well, you and Mike have the same name, so I don't wanna confuse you for him and I don't want to confuse him for you when I call one of you by name." Morrison replied.

"What's wrong with Mikey?" asked Mikey.

"Don't call me that! It sounds childish!" Mike exclaimed.

Suddenly, Mikey could see this confusing error and he immediately agreed on the name change, under one stipulation that he's thinking up of...

"How about Lil' Mikey-Mike?" asked Mikey.

"That works well. Group, huddle." Morrison replied.

The rest of the skating clan gathered around for a quick little huddle meeting to determine that Mikey's new nickname will be confirmed and see if they're all in agreement and after some quick deliberations, they gathered together and Mickey said, "Mikey K., we now nickname you Lil' Mikey-Mike."

"That's awesome." Lil' Mikey-Mike answered.

"And why that name?" asked Mike.

"So that we wouldn't mistakenly call you by the other." Morrison replied.

Mike thought it would be stupid for a second, but contemplated on that thought that the new nickname wouldn't be considered fitting for him and he nodded his head at this and said, "Go at it. But next time you want to put me in a skating challenge, keep me out of it."

"Gladly. Wouldn't suit well for a guy your age." Sammy added.

Mike grunts in frustration over these kids' picking at him and just walked to his sports car and said, "I'll be at the Moon Theater."

Johnny chuckles in amusement and said, "He's pretty cool when he's not too full of himself."

"Or tries to be anyway." Ash added.

* * *

I just thought it would be hilarious if one of Morrison's skater clique rags on Mike (the mouse, not the skater clique group member) at the skate park. Personality-wise, how did I do on Mike? Stay tuned for more!


	33. Gratitude Next Door

We finally see Morrison meeting Meena's family as well as Morrison's family meeting the Moon Theater family as well!

* * *

Chapter 33: Gratitude Next Door

It was almost sunset as Morrison skated his way back to the neighborhood on his way home and as he reached throughout the suburbs, he received a text from his phone. He made a quick stop, went to his pocket, pick his phone up and that it was his mom that sent him a text that reads, 'At Meena's house for dinner. Come by the front door.' He then responded back by saying, 'Be there in a sec.' and then sent it. He then got back on his board and quickly headed straight for Meena's house and as he walked by the front door, he saw Meena standing there at the front porch. He was actually very surprised to see Meena standing there and he walks over to the front and he said, "Hey, Meena."

"Hi, Morrison. Glad you could make it." Meena replied, greeting him joyfully.

"So...what's going on?" asked Morrison.

Meena led him in the house and as Morrison walked to the door and into the kitchen, he was surprised to see not only his parents, his siblings as well as Meena's mom and grandparents, but also everyone from the Moon Theater that were in the dining table as well, including Buster Moon himself. Buster turns around and sees Morrison there and said, "Hello, Morrison. Surprised to see us?"

"Yes, very much so!" Morrison exclaimed.

Meena's mother came over and she immediately came by and embraced Morrison as she hugged him tightly and said, "So, you're the young man that saved my baby last night! You don't know how grateful I am that you were there for my Meena!"

Morrison lets out an uneasy chuckle, but then eased down a little bit and replied, "Well, thank you very much, ma'am."

"If I was there last night, I would've beat up the young man that was trying to hurt my granddaughter! I should know, I used to be a champion wrestler back in my day!" Meena's grandfather exclaimed.

Meena's mother groans in exasperation and said, "Dad, we've talked about this. No mentioning your glory days in front of the guests."

"Why not? They're bound to know anyway!" Meena's grandfather added.

Morrison sat down on the table between where Meena was sitting and Rosita as well and Morrison's mom turned to her son and said, "Meena's mother invited us over for dinner tonight and it marked a little bit of a special occasion because of your heroics in saving Meena last night."

"Aw, mom...it was nothing." Morrison replied.

"Nothing?! You saved my granddaughter from certain death! That doesn't count as nothing!" Meena's grandfather exclaimed.

Morrison didn't know what to say about that and he chuckled softly and said, "No, I guess not."

"Young man, you're a hero. It should never be unnoticed." Meena's grandmother said, with a smile on her face.

Morrison blinked his eyes and was speechless on what she just said and he knew that he did the right thing in doing what he did; he just never knew how much of an impact it would make on him. He nods his head and replied, "Thank you, ma'am."

"Morrison's always humble and he's always one to let his actions and talent speak for itself." Morrison's mom added.

"Yeah, Mo is the best storyteller and he always sings me to sleep almost every night." Tucker pointed out.

"Does he really?" asked Ash.

"Yeah, I do that. Whenever mom or dad are too busy or if they're not home yet, I step in the plate and help my little bro go to sleep. It was supposed to be a one-time thing, but I ended up doing it for like 3 years now, since he was in kindergarten." Morrison answered.

"Aw, that's so sweet!" Meena said, happily.

"Who knew?" asked Rosita.

A couple of minutes later, everyone had some dinner as they're still talking and eating and it was at that moment when Morrison's parents had heard that Morrison's gonna be the new member of the Moon Theater, which prompts some excitement to many of them and his parents loved the idea because they knew Morrison has some good talents and want him to succeed without pushing him to do so. As Buster explained everything, Morrison's mom turned to her son and said, "You should go for it."

"You think I should?" asked Morrison.

"Mo, I've seen you on stage many times. You always kill it." Isaiah stated.

"I don't know why you always hold yourself back. You don't have stage fright." Vincent replied.

Morrison sighed at this and he said, "Mainly because when you're a sports person, doing music and theater is considered either gay and sissified."

Meena's grandfather seemed completely stunned and a little bit offended by that fictional remark and he said, "Impossible! Whomever said that to you must keep their tongues locked up. I don't see nothing wrong with a man wanting to sing a lot! That stuff will get you a lot of girls. How do you think I met my wife?"

"Dad, you promised..." Meena's mother said, a little bit embarrassed.

Johnny chimed in and said, "We've all heard Morrison sing when he first stepped into the Moon Theater a few weeks ago and he's just amazing. We'd love to have him here."

"Ja, ja! And we can teach him how to dance! We'll have him dancing like a flattenberger pancake." Gunter stated.

Vincent looked at Gunter all weird after what he just said and asked Morrison, "Does any of what this guy said make any sense?"

"It's not supposed to, I don't think. But I can't question it." Morrison replied.

"I would definitely go for it, only under the stipulation that it doesn't affect his schoolwork, homework and chores at home." Morrison's mom added.

Buster nodded at this in agreement and said, "Of course. Education is always the importance."

"I guess I could do my homework while I'm at school or at the bus." Morrison added.

Morrison's dad couldn't help but be familiarized by Johnny and he felt as if he had seen that face before and he asked Johnny, "Hey, Johnny? Forgive me for staring, but you kinda remind me of someone I know."

"Really? Who?" asked Johnny.

"Um, you remind me of this guy I used to go to school with back in college. We were competitive rivals when it comes to who looks good in the gym as well as in the wrestling matches...Marcus." Morrison's dad added.

"You mean my dad?" asked Johnny.

Then, Morrison's jaw dropped to find that this old college frenemy he referred to is actually Johnny's dad and he said, "He's your dad? It's been like...25 years or so. What's he up to now?"

"Actually, my dad's in jail right now." Johnny answered.

"Serious? What happened?" asked Morrison.

"I think it's best you don't wanna know." Johnny replied.

"That bad, huh?" asked Morrison's dad, blinking his eyes.

Soon afterwards, Meena brought in some baked goods out of the oven and she said, "If you guys are hungry, I baked some fresh cookies for you all."

"Yum!" Trevor exclaimed.

"Cookies!" Tucker said, excitedly.

"I think you need to give Tucker two cookies only because that's his limit for that amount of sugar." Morrison's mom added.

"Aw, mom! Two cookies aren't enough for me!" Tucker argued.

Meena giggled in response to that and gave Meena the two cookies anyway and she passed them all around to everyone at the table and ate some of them and they were really surprised by the turn around and Ash said, "Those are some seriously good cookies."

"Jumbo, I'm surprised that you actually can bake." Mike added, just chomping away.

"Oi, you should open a bakery one day." Johnny agreed.

Meena giggled by this and she sat down and said, "Well, that was actually a back-up plan in case singing didn't go well."

"Now you can bake and sing! If you bake, you can sing!" Meena's grandfather exclaimed, happily.

Morrison chuckled and said to Meena, "I like your grandpa. He's really funny."

"He is. Lately, he's been real good friends with Johnny ever since the talent show and the re-opening of the Moon Theater. It's actually kind nice." Meena added.

Throughout the evening, everyone's been enjoying each other's company and it looks as though Meena and Morrison are starting to have their admiration for each other showcasing as they look at each other and smiled towards each other for a few seconds before eating some cookies and just talking with each other.

* * *

Looks as if the early romance seeds between Meena and Morrison are starting to grow...slowly but surely! Stay tuned for more! And next chapter, there may be a little more Trevor!


	34. Another Trevor Update

And now we seek Trevor in the news...and there's some surprising facts about Trevor that may surprise you, which gives the answer to this entitled rich-kid like attitude he had carried...

* * *

Chapter 34: Another Trevor Update

After dinner, Meena turned on the TV in the kitchen and what's been shown right in front of her completely surprised her as she saw Trevor walking to the court with his orange jumpsuit alongside several of his henchmen minus Josh in handcuffs as the news reporter reported what's going on there, which captures Morrison's attention as he walks over to the kitchen and saw Trevor there and he said, "What's Trevor doing here?"

Just then, Meena's mother turned on the TV in the living room so that everyone else can see what's going on and with that mindset, Meena shut off the one in the kitchen and as she was mixing some dough in a bowl to make some cookies, she saw everyone else coming by to see what happens next and Meena's grandfather looked at Trevor on the plasma screen and asked, "Is that him?"

"That's him, grandpa." Meena replied, looking a little nervous about seeing his face.

"Trevor Hindsmire, how do you plead to all of those charges that are brought against you, guilty or not guilty?" asked the judge.

"Not guilty." Trevor replied, very emotionless.

Morrison could see the look on Trevor's face when he pleaded not guilty in front of the judge, like he's truly not showing any signs of remorse over what he had done to Meena and several other girls and then, his attorney said, "My client here doesn't feel that he's responsible for what he had done because it was the victim's fault for not complying with his advances, so really, we feel as if in the best interest is that she should be put to jail for making him do what he did."

Meena became completely stunned to hear that Trevor's attorney pit the blame on yesterday's insanity on her and Meena's grandfather grunts as he stood up and shouted, "No, my granddaughter should not be blamed for what this boy tried to do to her!"

"I agree! Where did they find this attorney?" asked Morrison.

"If I was at that courtroom, I would break this boy's bones. Let me tell you right now." Meena's mother said, expressing her disgust towards this situation.

Several people in the courtroom completely felt stunned to hear this and many of them disagreed with that, but kept it silent afterwards and the attorney went on to say, "Even though he has taken responsibility for what he had committed, he doesn't deserve to be jailed because he's a minor. The fair sentence for him would be at a juvenile facility until he's 21."

"How old is this guy?" asked Vincent.

"17." Morrison replied.

"Forget the juvenile center, he ought to be in jail! Lock him up and throw away the key!" Meena's grandfather added.

Morrison could tell that Meena's feeling completely anxious about this and the fact that Trevor's attorney has pointed the finger at Meena for all of this made her feel completely shaken and Morrison reached out to her and held her arm to give her some comfort and once Meena looked at Morrison, her anxiety quickly faded away and was replaced with comfort and relief that he's standing by her side.

"I can't believe that this guy is just gonna say all this kind of stuff to Meena." Ash stated, very disturbed.

"How can he afford a lawyer anyway?" asked Rosita.

"His parents are founders of a high-tech social media app for single predators who had been heartbroken before and want to find love again called Prey2Pred and also, ironically...a high-powered security tech company that exposes criminals who have done heinous crimes that involves assault and many other sickening crimes involving women and children." Morrison answered.

Most of the adults gasped at that realization and that offended Rosita the most and said, "So, they made this company to keep vile criminals off the streets and yet their own son is becoming one of them."

"How stuppadfreund can you get?" asked Gunter.

"Exactly! He's a total jerken..shpeil...blatt." Rosita added, trying to empathize what Gunter said.

Gunter nods his head in response in agreement and said, "Ja, I could've said it better myself!"

The judge looked as if he's very offended and annoyed by not only Trevor's cavalier attitude, but also him blaming the victim for all of this happening and said, "I've dealt with a lot of offenders that are much older than you, but you by far...are the most incompetent, callous and disgusting young offender I've ever come across with in my 45 years in on the bench."

"I'm pretty sure you're not as rich as my parents are." Trevor remarked.

Everyone that was watching it had their jaw dropped when Trecor talked back to the judge and Mike was completely shocked to hear that part and said, "That little punk. He should watch himself."

"Young man, I refuse to play those games you're trying to play. It will not fly in my courtroom." the judge added.

"Why don't you take your law and order and shove it up your fat ass?" asked Trevor.

Morrison blinked his eyes and knew that Trevor would find himself in much bigger trouble with the judge and he quickly covered Tucker's ears before Trevor could spill out those words and Rosita asked, "I don't know what young girl would ever see in him with an attitude like that."

"Yeah, me neither." Meena agreed.

The judge banged his gavel and he said, "You are in contempt of court. Send him back to prison."

Trevor was escorted out with the officers as he stepped out of the courtroom, but not before giving the judge and the rest of the news cameras the finger, aiming directly towards Meena and after that, the reporter said, "As you can see here, this young man is in contempt of court for talking smack at the judge. If he's found guilty of all charges, the maximum sentence will be 45 years in prison."

"I hope he gets life." Morrison added.

"So do I." Meena agreed.

Soon afterwards, everyone started to leave the house, thanking them for dinner and Meena brought in some bags of cookies for them to take home and said their farewells, but Buster wanted to meet up with Morrison's family alongside Johnny and Gunter as they headed to Morrison's house, to which they accepted the offer and as soon as Morrison left the house, he looked at Meena and said, "See you at school tomorrow?"

"You bet." Meena said, smiling.

"And who knows? I might try to beat you at volleyball." Morrison said, smiling.

Meena chuckled in response to that and replied, "Game on."

Morrison waved bye to her as he caught up with everyone else as they headed to Morrison's house and he was a little stoked about showing Buster, Johnny and Gunter where he lives and he's hoping that his parents doesn't embarrass him for showing them his baby pictures.

* * *

Now, Morrison's family meets with half of the Moon Theater crew and on the next chapter, a surprising story about Morrison you never knew...


	35. Guests at Morrison's house

And we see Morrison's family bringing half of the Moon Theater crew into Morrison's place and his parents reveal something about an event that happened to Morrison that may surprise half of the crew...

* * *

Chapter 35: Guests at Morrison's House

As soon as Morrison and his family got back home, they led Buster, Johnny and Gunter in the house and all three of them were awestruck by how it looks and Buster widened his eyes and said, "You have a very lovely home, ma'am."

"Thank you, Mr. Moon." Morrison's mom replied.

Gunter saw the sign on the side of the wall near the front door and a basket with a couple of shoes there and it reads, 'Welcome to our home, feel free to remove your shoes when you come inside' and that surprised Gunter the most and as Morrison walked back to the living room, he immediately took off his sandals and placed them in the basket, in which Gunter asked, "Is that really true?"

Morrison looked up and noticed that Gunter read the sign already and said, "Yep. It's how we are as a family and when we have guests coming over, they might think it's a little strange at first, but after awhile, you start to see the reason as to why; we're a welcoming family. That and of course, my mom's side of the family implemented it like generations ago."

Gunter nods his head at this and he took his shoes off and sets them down in the guest basket pile and shortly thereafter, Mike, Buster and Johnny did the same as they were walking by and Gunter asked, "You saw the sign too, no?"

"Morrison's mom asked us to." Buster answered.

Soon afterwards, Buster walked into the living room with Mike and Gunter while Morrison showed Johnny around the house as they went upstairs and while they were up, Buster, Mike and Gunter sat down on the chairs and Morrison's dad sat down on his and he said, "So...I hear that your theater's back on the map as of recently. How's it so far?"

"It's going great! I tell you, it has never been better and the reception we got after the first re-opening day was exciting!" Buster exclaimed.

"I'm glad it hear it, Mr. Moon." Morrison's dad stated.

"Yes, thank you." Buster answered.

Morrison's mom chimed in and said, "The reason we invited you here is to express further interest in our son being in the Moon Theater. He is gifted with music. Extremely talented."

"We're all aware of it. He's just phenomenal." Buster answered, very wide-eyed.

"He is. Sometimes, he just doesn't think that way." Morrison's mom added.

That threw Buster and Gunter in for a loop as they couldn't believe what they were saying and Gunter asked, "Why is that?"

"Well, our son doesn't have stage fright and he doesn't have any anxiety when he performs. He loves performing, writing music, making music and even doing music. The problem is that even though he's super-talented in many ways, he always sells himself a little short, like he's not sure of himself. We've always told him to never waste that gift, but I guess the fear is that others might be envious of it or that other people want to bring him down for it." Morrison's dad added.

"You mean, other people could...?" asked Gunter.

"Yep. It happened to him once when he was 11 when he was performing at a talent show at a local fair. He just started performing with a guitar in front of a big crowd, like between 40,000 to 50,000 people there and lots of people really loved his talent. They adored him. But when it was shown in the papers all over, most of the students at his school were completely furious and jealous and they ended up teasing him for half of the first semester when he was in 6th grade. It had gotten so bad that people started posting death threats on social media; most of them were kids that are in the same age group as he was." Morrison's mom explains.

Just hearing this made Gunter shocked, Buster completely speechless and Mike outraged to hear that such a talent like that could cause this much scrutiny among others and Buster said, "How did he deal with it?"

"He never fought back at them, but he just couldn't deal with it and stopped performing for 3 years...at least in this town." Morrison's dad added.

"That's awful." Mike responded.

"I know. It's really hard to see your cub suffer through it at that age and then be in the crossfire for it. Our daughter Sienna's relationship with Morrison had strained because she felt threatened by her brother's talent and public opinion, but Morrison never harbored any ill feelings towards anyone." Morrison's mom added.

Just hearing this made Mike completely empathetic towards the situation and he just couldn't imagine being in Morrison's shoes for a while and asked, "Did it get worse for the kid?"

"7th grade...as Morrison puts it as 'pure adolescent prison hell' because he had to deal with being called out, threatened to cause dangerous harm, making terrorist threats and also posting lies about him on the internet." Morrison's dad answered.

"What did they say about him?" asked Gunter.

Morrison's dad shuddered at those thoughts and replied, "I wouldn't even repeat what they had said."

"His only support system was his friends he grew up with at school, his skater friends, some new friends at school, family and even Meena. Meena was always there for Morrison when he needed her the most at his lowest point. There was a point that he almost wanted to quit all together, but if there's one thing about our family is that we are never quitters. We keep moving forward even when the time gets tough. It took about 2 years before Morrison mustered enough confidence to resume performing again because he would only do music in private where no one could see or hear and that he wouldn't be harshly judged, so that's why he was a little leery about putting himself out there. But whenever he gets on stage, it's like a switch has been turned on and he becomes a performer at best, though there's no one in audience." Morrison's mom added.

"That's what being a performer does to you. You've got to come out and be spicy, no?" asked Gunter.

"I think I got the gist of it." Morrison's dad chuckled.

"Well...in all honesty, we would really love to have your son here with us. His talent is beyond amazing and I would just hate to see it put to waste." Buster added.

"We agree. We just have to make a few boundaries though, as far as timing goes. He understands that it won't interfere with his schoolwork and time at the house and he just can't add one more thing on his plate." Morrison's mom added.

"Can you bring him down here?" asked Buster.

"Sure thing. Morrison, come down son!" Morrison's dad exclaimed.

"Be right there!" Morrison exclaimed.

10 seconds later, Morrison and Johnny walked downstairs and headed to the living room as the two sat down on the floor and Morrison asked, "What's up?"

"We've talked it over with Mr. Moon and we know you have a phenomenal talent for music, so we've decided to allow you to take the position in being part of the Moon Theater. Under the stipulation that this will not interfere with your schoolwork, homework and helping out around the house in any way, shape or form." Morrison's mom stated.

Morrison nodded his head in agreement and said, "Totally understand. I do most of my homework while I'm at school anyways and I always finish it at home and maybe do it at the backstage theater if it's possible."

"Of course. You know you have to come early." Buster added.

"True that." Morrison agreed.

"Kid, you've got a lot of potential in you. I don't say this about anyone else, but I think what you'll do here will make every kid that posted death threats online think twice about your gift." Mike added.

Morrison was surprised, but also figured that his parents told them about his personal revelation that he had endured before, which caught Johnny by surprise and asked, "Death threats?"

"Let's just say people made a big stink about the time I performed at a festival one day when I was 11 and I got so much crap for it." Morrison added.

"You shouldn't focus on them. They're nothing but veederschtinkers. You can't be associated with those riff-raff ragamuffins, they do not define you. You do." Gunter added.

"Gunter's right. Although the veeder...vedder...whatever he just said, kinda unusual." Morrison's dad added.

"And plus, I think you got yourself a little bodyguard in case someone messes with you." Morrison's mom stated.

Morrison scoffs and asked, "Bodyguard?"

"Yep." Morrison's mom added, pointing towards Johnny.

Morrison looked up and noticed that his mom was referring to Johnny and that was unexpected for him and the only response was, "Looks like I do. Where were you 3 years ago?"

Johnny chuckled in response to that and he went in gave Morrison a little noogie, in which Morrison replied with a laugh and said, "Okay, I give! I give!"

"Yo, if you guys are done bromancing, let's play some video games! I'm gonna take your high score down!" Vincent called out.

Morrison rolled his eyes at this and he knew that Vincent isn't gonna claim victory again and he turned to his parents and said, "May we be excused?"

"Sure." Morrison's mom replied.

Morrison got himself up, dusted himself off and Johnny got up as well and followed Morrison upstairs and headed for his room and Buster chuckled at this and said, "I have a feeling that these two are gonna be best friends."

"I can already sense that." Morrison's dad agreed, chuckling.

"Mo is always very friendly to others and he has a really big heart. When you're around him, even if you have one of the worst days of your life, he'll always brighten it up with a smile, joke, words of encouragement or a song. He's one of the most positive, caring people you'll ever meet." Morrison's mom added.

"Ja, ja...I can already tell." Gunter agreed.

"After what he did for Meena last night, I can see why." Buster added.

* * *

Surprised to hear about Morrison's revelation? You'll see him perform again later on! Next chapter, Morrison and Johnny's bro-dom!


	36. Theater Bros

Now we get to see Morrison and Johnny becoming best friends and theater buds! Or just simply...

* * *

Chapter 36: Theater Bros

Morrison and Johnny headed to Vincent's room where he saw three of his roommates there, sitting on the floor nearly completed on their video games and Morrison sucked his teeth as he saw them there and asked, "Hey, guys."

"Sup, Mo-Mo?" asked Baxter.

Rocky turns around and sees Johnny standing there and asked, "Who's the gorilla?"

"Guys, this is Johnny. Johnny, these are my brother's roomies from college; Rocky, Baxter and Travis." Morrison replied, introducing Johnny to Vincent's college roomies.

"Hello, nice to meet you all." Johnny said, smiling.

Travis looked up at Johnny and he became starstruck by his presence and he got himself up and said, "You're the dude from that talent show thing at the Moon Theater, aren't you?"

"Yeah, that's me." Johnny replied.

"Holy snap...you're actually here. Forgive me for fanboying, but I'm just really excited to see you! Like, in real life!" Travis exclaimed, obviously excited.

Johnny chuckled at this and responded, "Thank you."

"Okay, Hollywood dude...take your fanboy down a few notches. Let's let the theater geeks take over from here." Vincent stated, holding the controller.

"What game we playing?" asked Johnny, as he sat down.

"How good are you two with Howl of Duty?" Vincent asked.

Johnny smiled at this and in response, he answered, "I play that game all the time at the arcade."

Morrison sat down next towards Johnny and said, "This is the real deal, dude. Me and Vince always play it and we always try to beat each other, in terms of high scores."

"Which I always still beat you with because you're younger." Vincent added.

Before long, the two started playing 'Howl of Duty' where in one spot, Morrison is the young, rogue wolf looking to shoot the enemy while Johnny is the war-ridden white wolf looking to take down the enemy, an Alpha wolf named Parkin who's sole purpose is to take down those that stand in his way of victory. Morrison pressed all the control buttons where the young, rogue wolf can just aim and fire at Parkin and Johnny did the exact same way, only with a much more different approach as he did a backflip and aim at Parkin's soldiers.

Johnny became direct and focused as he pressed the buttons that the character is shooting rapid-fire bullets at the soldiers and kept firing and firing as Morrison's vid game character did the exact same thing, only just firing shot after shot after shot.

Travis looked at Johnny as he's playing this game with Morrison that these two are like pros when it comes to gaming, but he's more geeked out that Johnny's here and Baxter said, "How are you dudes good at this?"

"You'd be surprised at how many times I've played this with Vincent." Morrison answered.

"I taught him how to play the game, but he's taking it into higher levels. First day I introduced him to Howl of Duty, he got through his first 23 levels in just one day!" Vincent exclaimed.

"I used to play some when I'm in my room in the garage for at least 2 hours...whenever I can." Johnny answered.

Soon afterwards, Johnny and Morrison became pretty good at Howl of Duty as they kept on fighting off the soldiers in the game and within no time, they took down Parkin with a single gunshot as well as attacked him with the butt of a gun. Soon enough, the flashing lights 'Game Over' blinked several times and both of them were cheering that they took him down and high-fived each other afterwards.

"That was awesome!" Morrison exclaimed.

"We're good at this one, Howl of Duty." Johnny agreed.

Baxter chuckled at this as he watched Morrison's high score go from 700 to 987 and Johnny's score up 111 to 765, he could tell that his brother and Johnny are like serious pro gamers and he turned to Vincent and said, "I think your bro's gonna be a champion gamer."

"Sure, he does..." Vincent scoffed, in disbelief.

"Well, hey...you gotta start gaming when they're young. It's like a piece of cake." Travis added.

Baxter's stomach started growling and he looked at Vincent and asked, "Speaking of cake, I'm hungry. Do you guys have any more snacks?"

"Dude, you're always hungry. Shouldn't you switch to something like...kale chips?" asked Vincent.

Baxter groans in disgust over the term kale chips and said, "No way, man. I don't eat or drink anything that's got kale in it. It tastes disgusting."

"Bax, kale is actually really good for you. It's an all-natural vegetable and it's healthy for you." Morrison stated.

"All the more reason why I can't eat kale. Or any amount of vegetables and fruits. Give me cake, pizza, chips, nachos, tacos and doughnuts any day." Baxter responded.

Vincent sighed in annoyance and got himself up and said, "I'll see what I can find in the pantry. Don't want you to get hangry...again."

As Vincent walked out of the room, Johnny tilted his head to the side and asked, "Hangry?"

"When you're hungry and angry. Trust me, I've seen it with my brother several times. One time, he got so hangry, he almost went on a full-on tantrum about something I had no idea what it was about, but it was something stupid that involves body slamming the couch and nearly tearing up the fridge." Morrison answered.

"Don't you get hangry, Johnny?" asked Baxter.

"No, not at all. I always eat whenever I can." Johnny answered.

"Wait until you get into college, man. There's literally every fast food restaurants, cafes, cafeterias, coffee houses and delivery places everywhere and groceries. All of that stuff and you'll probably gorge your face in everything." Baxter added.

"Well, if I do, I'll probably go to the gym and burn out some calories." Johnny responded.

Not long afterwards, Vincent came back with some chips, graham crackers, marshmallows and candies and that literally made Baxter yowl in happiness and ate some food right there and then and Morrison saw how Baxter devoured it so quickly that it made him uneasy just to watch and said, "Dang, bro...you must be really hungry."

"Hey, it's the college life." Baxter added, munching noisily.

"Okay...hey, Johnny...wanna take a selfie?" asked Morrison.

Johnny nods his head and replied, "Sure."

Morrison pulled out his phone and just set it to camera and he flipped the image around where it switched lens from the wall to the faces and brought Johnny in and both of them were just smiling as he took a few pics and just then, Travis popped in for a photobomb as Morrison snapped the picture and that photobomb prompted Morrison to include Baxter and Vincent in it and before long, Morrison took several group selfies afterwards.

"You sure know how to take great selfies." Baxter said.

"Who wouldn't?" asked Morrison.

"Alright, wanna take one with me? We can use my phone." Johnny answered, pulling his phone out of his pocket.

"Cool!" Morrison exclaimed.

Johnny brought Morrison in for a selfie and he took several of them on his phone with just him and Morrison and soon after, Johnny included Vincent, Baxter and Travis in it and took mounds of selfies and it was like at that moment, they were just having some fun with each other like normal teenagers do. Morrison chuckled at this and said, "That's awesome!"

"Looks pretty good, that." Johnny added.

Suddenly, in comes Mike out of nowhere coming to Vincent's room and he quickly walked towards Johnny and yanked his jeans, which caught his attention as he looked down and saw Mike there and said, "Hey, kid. We gotta get going."

Johnny nodded at that and he turned to the others and said, "Oi, it's time for me to head out."

"Already?" asked Travis.

"Yeah, gotta get home though. But it's awesome just to hang out with you guys and that's the most fun I've had in a long while...next to singing, of course." Johnny said, with a chuckle.

"Anytime, man. You're super welcome here." Morrison added.

Minutes later, Buster, Johnny, Mike and Gunter were heading for the door and Buster told Morrison's parents, "Thank you all for an amazing evening here."

"Thank you for coming. You're all welcome here anytime." Morrison's dad said.

As everyone said their goodbyes as most of them left the house, Morrison's dad closed the door and Morrison just felt completely happy like it was the best evening of his life and just then, Johnny comes back in the house and said, "Sorry, forgot my jacket."

"All good, man." Morrison said, smiling.

Johnny got his jacket from the coat rack and puts them on and said, "See you at school tomorrow?"

"Count on it. We should text sometime." Morrison replied.

"Oh cool!" Johnny answered.

Both of them exchanged their numbers as they swapped phones and after that, they brought their phones back to each other and Johnny left the house as he said 'bye' to Morrison and afterwards, Morrison walked upstairs to get himself ready for bed, but not before Tucker comes by and asked, "Mo, can you read me a story?"

"How come that doesn't surprise me?" asked Morrison, with a chuckle as he walked into Tucker's room.

* * *

You can tell that Morrison and Johnny are like best friends and brothers now...a pretty cool friendship between a cheetah and a gorilla! Stay tuned for more! BTW, if you've heard of the two video games that I've 'animalized', it came to me in a dream.


	37. The Last We'll See of Trevor

We get to see Trevor's freedom being thrown away for all to see...by his former students.

* * *

Chapter 37: The Last We'll See of Trevor

One week later

Meena has gotten over her ordeal with Trevor and is just looking forward to just a normal day at school and as she walks towards the campus, in walks Morrison on his skateboard coming in and he makes a stop as he grabs his board, stuffs it in his backpack and heads in as well. Believe it or not, the events that had occured seemed to bring them closer together as soon as Morrison sees Meena coming in and she turns around and happily waves at him. He waves back as he makes way to his locker to get his books for his first class, completely unaware that right next to his is a certain gorilla pounding his fist three times and opens just like that as he gets his things from his locker.

Morrison looks up and realizes that locker next to him is Johnny's which took him by surprise and he said, "Hey, Johnny."

Johnny looks up and sees Morrison there and he smiled and said, "Hey, Morrison. How's it going?"

"Pretty good, man. You?" asked Morrison.

"Same here, couldn't complain." Johnny replied, cheerfully.

Morrison chuckled softly and stated, "I didn't know what your locker is next door to mine."

"Is that right?" asked Johnny, very bewildered.

Morrison nodded his head as Johnny looked at the two lockers and when connecting the dots with two and two together, he was floored by the fact that these two are locker-mates and he said, "This is amazing. Looks as if we're gonna be in the same position."

"Yeah, isn't that awesome?" asked Morrison, completely excited.

Johnny couldn't agree more as the two shared the same enthusiasm and both of them gave each other a fist-bump while making an explosion noise as they were laughing with each other and not long afterwards, Meena came in and she saw Morrison and Johnny standing by and she said, "Hey, guys."

"Hi, Meena." Johnny replied.

"Hey, Meena." Morrison added.

Morrison could tell that her joyfulness is back in full bloom almost as if everything's going back to normal before Trevor even entered the picture and that's a good sign that she's moving on and Meena said, "Hey, Morrison...thanks for extra songs to put on my headphones. I have to admit, this new Kitty Perry song has got me dancing!"

"Well, thanks! Did you also like the new Linkin Pond song?" asked Morrison.

"I liked it. I couldn't believe it's the same band that used to do all the screaming on their songs." Meena added.

"I know, I couldn't believe it either. I showed this song to Milo and company the other day and they told me that it sucked because it doesn't sound like it used to sound from their last work." Morrison added.

"I've just heard it on the way to school. I have mixed feelings about it, really." Johnny stated.

As they were talking amongst themselves, they could hear some feedback from the speakers that caught their attention as they heard something from the principal as he clears his throat and makes this immediate announcement.

"Good morning, students. Before you proceed to your first class, I need to see all of you at the auditorium because there is something on the news about one of our former students that had been to jail recently over one particular incident that occurred a few weeks ago concerning one of our own and they're about to give out a sentence. So, would everyone please head to the auditorium as soon as possible? No questions asked. Thank you."

Many of the students were curious about what's going on and they headed to the auditorium as told, including Morrison, Johnny and Meena as they walked to the hallways and made it to the auditorium. As they got there, they had a feeling that it might have something to do with Trevor, much to no surprise to Morrison at all. By the time everyone got in their seats, the auditorium was now packed and they saw this 125 inch flat screen on the stage where it's paused to the 'Breaking News' marquee on it.

As soon as everyone's seated, in comes the principal as well as the track coach and vice-principal to the stage and the principal comes in and said, "As you all know, one of our students has been arrested for many charges due to last week's livestreaming altercation that occured with one of our students, who had the utter misfortune to be tortured and almost brutally murdered and it took one act of heroism to save her from this impending doom. So, we've got to show you all this breaking news that the court had just given on Trevor and some of his gang for this heinous crime. And I am desperately hoping that you all do not do the same thing that this person did weeks ago to livestream your crime on social media. Anyone involved will not only get expelled, but will get arrested as well."

Everyone was silent as soon as they played the 'Breaking News' for the local news and one of the morning anchors had made this opening report.

"On top of the hour, we're following some breaking news straight out of the courtroom that we're now reading the verdicts in the case of Trevor Hindsmire over this kidnapping and torture charges brought against him. Let's all listen in." the morning news anchor announced.

Meena looks at this image of Trevor just smirking for the cameras, seemingly confident that he'll get a not guilty verdict and just looking at his face on the screen brought in a load of anxiety for her, but she found the strength to just not let this guy get inside her head, though he's not physically in the school right now and just waits for the shoe to drop as soon as the verdict comes in.

"Have we all decided on a verdict?" asked the judge.

"We have, your honor." one verdict responds.

Trevor kept on smirking in front of the whole courtroom and he's hoping that he'll walk free out of this jail and continue going the way he's going, like maybe go back to school and charm other girls with his rich and wit and that his lawyers will back him up to throw out the case, proving that there's no physical evidence of a livestreaming incident.

"Proceed." the judge added.

One of the jurors stood up and she clears her throat and said, "We'll focus on last week's incident; on the charge of attempted murder, we the jury, in the above entitled action, find the defendant Trevor Hindsmire, guilty."

Then, Trevor's smirk silently faded as soon as he heard his first 'guilty' come out of her mouth and he didn't think that it'll go that further than that and whispered to his lawyer, "What the hell?"

"On the count of aggravated assault, we the jury find the defendant, Trevor Hindsmire, guilty." the juror added.

"What?" asked Trevor.

"On the second count of attempted aggravated assault, we the jury find the defendant, Trevor Hindsmire, guilty." the juror kept on.

For Meena, it was like she was being very vindicated and like a huge weight had lifted off of her shoulders, but still waits to see what other charged he may or may not be guilty of, but so far...it seems like Morrison was expecting this to happen.

"On the count of conspiring to commit murder with one or more party, we the jury find the defendant, Trevor Hindsmire, guilty." the juror continued.

As soon as every charge reads 'guilty', Trevor became confused and shocked as to how his actions will be completely reprimanded and that those consequences are giving him much more direct serious approaches to have the book thrown directly at him.

"On the count of first-degree torture, we the jury in the above entitlement, find the defendant, Trevor Hindsmire, guilty." the juror continued.

"They can't be serious." Trevor whispered to his attorney.

"As the the count of endangering a minor, we the jury find the defendant, Trevor Hindsmire, guilty." the juror responded.

"Oh, they're serious." Morrison whispered, as they watch through the TV.

"As to the count of first-degree kidnapping with intent to murder, we the jury find the defendant, Trevor Hindsmire, guilty." the juror continued on.

Trevor went from shocked to furious in a quick second as his chance of getting released or have an acquittal are dashed away as he's faced with actual consequences and just couldn't believe all the efforts to release him from prison are for naught and he took one look at his lawyer team and just felt like he's been betrayed by the legal system and his legal team for not defending him enough.

"And finally, on the count of false imprisonment, we the jury in the above entitlement find the defendant, Trevor Hindsmire, guilty." the juror concluded.

It then hit Trevor...all of those charges that were brought before him completely blindsided him that he's been found guilty. But the jury wasn't done with him yet. They were reading all the charges for those missing cases of girls that have either been abducted or murdered and found him guilty on charges of luring a minor against their will, false imprisonment, assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault, attempted murder, kidnapping, torture, arson, reckless endangerment, concealment of evidence and endangering the welfare of a minor. However, the jury did acquit him of two charges; serving alcohol to minors and soliciting drugs because there was no further evidence to convict him in that order.

In spite of that, he's guilty of all but 2 charges in the case against those missing teen girls and guilty of all counts of last week's altercation between him and Meena and will have his sentencing soon.

"Are you confident with those proceedings that have been stood before me?" asked the judge.

"Yes, your honor." the juror replied.

Reality completely sunk in for Trevor and as he stood up and faced the judge alongside his lawyers, the judge looked at Trevor and said, "Trevor, you are the poster child for many girls that their father absolutely refuse to start a relationship with. For the sentence of last week's chaotic activity, you are sentenced to serve 45 years to life."

The eruption of cheers in the auditorium room at school just flooded in like crazy and it was like something that has never been foreseen before and the feeling that Meena had was that she can take a deep breath and finally breathe for once and she quickly turned over to Morrison and kissed him on the cheek, much to Morrison's surprise. He did not expect to receive a kiss from Meena and once she realized what she had just did, she was blushing in embarrassment that she just kissed Morrison.

Morrison turned to her with cheeks blushing red and he thoroughly embraced that and he asked, "Did that just happen?"

"I'm so sorry, Morrison! I didn't mean to do that!" Meena exclaimed, in so much embarrassment and she quickly got up from the auditorium and ran out.

Morrison blinked his eyes and he quickly got up from his seat and went after her to let her know that it wasn't really her fault, but the feeling that the kiss came made Morrison think that there's actual feelings there and that his feelings for Meena as well as hers for Morrison were intertwined and as he ran, he began asking himself, "Do I have feelings for Meena? And if so, does she have the same feelings for me?"

* * *

There's a reason why I had expanded the story even the aftermath of the confrontation between Morrison and Trevor, regarding Meena. See what else happens next after that unexpected kiss on the cheek Meena gave to Morrison!


	38. The First Kiss

And the aftermath of the accidental kiss Meena gave Morrison...cue the jaw-drops and OMG's...

* * *

Chapter 38: The First Kiss

Morrison quickly ran out of the auditorium and searched the hallways looking for Meena after what may have been the most awkward, but most surprising moment that actually occurred after hearing the verdict against Trevor on the flat screen earlier today. He had searched the entire hallways, walked up and down many stairs and even in the gymnasium where he had thought she might be in and as he kept on looking for her, the last thing he expected was to hear a faint singing voice coming from somewhere. He knew that it was vaguely familiar, so he followed the sound and as the sound got closer and closer, it ended up somewhere on the stairs as he went up a few flights and it grew even louder and it led him to the garden terrace on the school's rooftop and who's there?

Much to his surprise...or not so surprise was Meena's singing voice and he heard her sing her heart out as she got her headphones on and giving the fact that what had occurred not so long ago and he slowly walked over and just heard her beautiful voice belt out so loud and just took it all in.

 _And hold me_

 _Wrap me in love, fill up my cup_

 _Empty_

 _Cuz only your love can fill up my cup_

 _So hold me_

 _Wrap me in love, fill up my cup_

 _Empty_

 _And only your love can fill up my cup_

 _Cuz I'm hollow_

 _Yeah, I'm hollow_

 _Cuz I'm hollow_

 _Yeah, I'm hollow..._

 _Cuz I'm hollow_

 _Yeah, I'm hollow_

 _Cuz I'm hollow_

 _Yeah, I'm hollow-o-o-o-ohh..._

When she opened her eyes, she turned around and saw that Morrison was standing there the entire time, in which she lets out a surprised gasp as she didn't expect him there as she removed her headphones and both of them stared at each other for a while, with Morrison pondering as to why she ran out like that and he asked, "You okay?"

"Yeah, how did...how did you know where I was?" asked Meena, still taken aback.

"Used to come here for free period for most days to gather my thoughts, escape, think...or even do what you just did there without anyone bothering you. At least until the bell rings." Morrison answered.

Meena chuckled nervously at this and replied, "That makes two of us."

Both of them shared a chuckle or two and then he looked at Meena in the eye and asked, "So...why did you kiss me?"

Then, Meena felt a huge pang of embarrassment over that and she just replied, "I'm so sorry, Morrison. I didn't know what came over me. I was just so relieved that Trevor's getting what he deserved that...I don't know. I'm really sorry, Mo. I hope I didn't make you upset."

Morrison could tell that Meena was embarrassed by the whole thing, but the last thing he ever felt was anger towards her and he came to her side as they sat down and said, "Me, mad? No way. I'm not mad at you at all. I was just shocked that you kissed me."

"You were shocked?" asked Meena.

"Yeah, took me by complete surprise. I didn't expect that to come from you. But...maybe there was a reason for it." Morrison added.

"What was that?" asked Meena.

Morrison sighed at this and knew that this was gonna be a now-or-never moment as he's able to look deeply into his neighbor's eyes and tells her the secret adoration that has been hidden in a long time and he said, "I have a crush on you, Meena. Like...from the moment since my family moved here. After everything you've been through with Trevor, I just couldn't stop thinking about you and that if I was your boyfriend, I'd treat you like a queen. I've had feelings for you, but I didn't want to tell you because I was a little afraid to lose our friendship that we have. Nothing's more important to me than that. But...I really do have feelings for you, Meena. I...I always have."

When Meena heard those flowing out of Morrison's mouth and from his heart, she could tell that he genuinely meant every single word and it did it her that her true admirer was there the whole time...right in front of her. Her next door neighbor is falling for her and all she could do is just look at him in awe and she answered, "Really?"

"Really really." Morrison answered.

Then that accidental kiss she planted on him at the auditorium became a catalyst of her true feelings for Morrison and she said, "I do feel the same way about you, Mo."

That was another surprising news that Morrison heard from Meena that she had feelings for him, but never knew about it...until now. He asked, "You do?"

"I always have. I had always thought of you as my little brother and my neighbor and nothing else. But just being around you made me feel like I can still be myself and lift me up when I'm down." Meena replied.

"You do the same for me." Morrison said, with a chuckle.

Both of them were just revealing things about what they like about each other and how they admire each other a lot to the point where they looked at each other and came a little closer and kissed each other on the lips. After the first tender kiss, they looked at each other and Morrison looked at her close-up and saw that beauty that he had always been enamored by from the first day and it was in clear view that is still present. Meena giggled in response and they resumed kissing for a little while and it was like their feelings for each other literally came together for the first time and they wished that this moment would last forever.

Well, until...

RIIIINNNNNGGGGG

They broke off the kiss and as they heard the school bell ring that school was about to start and Meena said, "We gotta get to class!"

"Right behind you!" Morrison agreed.

They bolted from the bench and ran all the way downstairs from the terrace and to the hallway to get to class on time, but that moment they had...it was like a never-ending moment and it meant a lot for both of them and their admiration for each other came in full view and maybe...just maybe, the start of something very meaningful.

* * *

And FINALLY! Morrison kisses Meena! There was a reason why extended the story! But the story is still not over yet! Stay tuned! BTW, the song was 'Hollow' from Tori Kelly, which is kinda fitting because she plays Meena, so it's kinda clever that her character can sing her own hit song.


	39. Almost Official

Here's how you can tell that there's a budding relationship started early on...including with Morrison and Meena, but didn't want anyone to see it...so they focus on other things.

* * *

Chapter 39: Almost Official

At lunch, Morrison was just talking with his buds about random things and it was while he was talking, his friends had almost noticed that he couldn't stop smiling and for some reason, it was assumed that he was happy that Trevor got what he deserved, which they can all agree on. However, one of them noticed that that's not the only reason to be happy about...and it starts as soon as Meena walks into the cafeteria as Morrison looked at her coming in and both of them were smiling at each other as she sat down between Johnny and Morrison.

"Hey, guys." Meena said, happily.

"Hey, Meena." everyone replied.

Meena looked up at Morrison and she smiled at him and said, "Hi, Morris."

"Hey, Meena. How goes?" asked Morrison, happily.

"Feeling so much better right now." Meena answered.

Milo made a very sly look on his face as he looked at the two together, just smiling and giggling with each other and something in him that confirms that there are some romance between the two of them as he just stares at them and asked, "So...are you guys?"

"Are we what?" asked Morrison, looking at Milo.

"Well, you know..." Milo answered, hinting at the fact that they might be official.

Suddenly, Morrison figured out what Milo had meant by that him and Meena are together and he did not expect that to be put on the spot and he immediately replied, "And if we are?"

"I knew it. I knew it, I knew it, I knew it! You two are together!" Milo exclaimed, pointing it out.

Meena blushed at this realization and Morrison just kept silent about this and Caden smirked at his with his head nodding and he said, "That explains it."

"Let's just say that we're more closer than ever." Meena added.

"Closer? Like how?" asked Milo.

Johnny looked at Milo for a few seconds and said, "Guys, let's just leave it at that."

"Yeah, Johnny's right. They may or may not be official." Ash agreed.

Morrison cleared his throat and now is as good a time as any to move on to a new subject and he then asked, "Did you guys catch The Howling Dead last night?"

"Oh, man...that episode was straight bonkers! I mean, seeing two zombie wolves making out in a full moon...you can't get anything more better than that!" Bryce exclaimed, in excitement.

"Yeah, well...that's nothing compared to the Stripe List!" Caden added.

Morrison gasped when Caden mentioned 'Stripe List' because it's one of those radical action-y shows that just couldn't be looked away and said, "Dude! I missed the new episode yesterday!"

"No worries, man! I DVR'd it in case you wanna hang out sometime." Caden replied.

Morrison breathed a heavy sigh of relief and said, "Whoever came up with DVR should be promoted!"

"That all sounds awesome and all, but I bet you haven't seen yesterday's crazy episode of 'Leaping Up with the Llamashians'. It's high drama at it's weirdest." Marshall stated.

Rodrick munched on his sandwich and had that expressionless look on his face and said, "Nobody cares about those reality trainwrecks."

"Yeah, I'd rather watch paint dry than spend an hour with those freaks." Milo agreed.

"Oi, I checked out this cool show called 'Alpha Wolf Horror Story', I gotta say it was absolutely thrilling and a little bit creepy at the same time." Johnny added.

"You actually saw that show? That's like hella crazy." Marshall asked.

As they were talking more, Morrison and Meena took a few glances at each other as they were eating and she asked Morrison, "So...now what Trevor's out of the picture, think we should date?"

"Why not just take it slow for a while? Like, let's see how it goes." Morrison suggested.

Meena blinked her eyes a few times and after that kiss they had, she's pretty eager to take in the realization that this is just starting and she nodded her head in agreement and they were looking forward to see where it'll lead to and for now, they're just gonna be friends for a short while. Morrison then asked, "Did you guys see the online reaction after Trevor's guilty plea?"

"Dude, it's all over the web! It's the most trended topic of FacePawHoof and Twimmer! So much so, they made several memes!" Marshall stated.

"Can we see the memes?" asked Morrison.

* * *

Stick around for more!


	40. Deepest Apology

And finally...we get to hear Joshua's side of the story and why he had taken part in what occurred that night with Trevor...

* * *

Chapter 40: Deepest Apology

After school, Morrison was getting ready to head home from school on his board and Meena was walking close by alongside Johnny, Ash, Marshall, Caden, Bryce, Milo, Kevin and Shawn to join with him and once they got near him, that surprised Morrison the most, but not that surprised at all when they joined in and Caden said, "Hey, man!"

"Sup, Cade?" asked Morrison.

"Not a lot. Can you believe that chemistry exam?" asked Caden.

Morrison lets out a deep exhale at that thought and responded, "It was like killer insanity, man. But it's not so bad once you keep studying a lot more."

"I suck at chemistry." Kevin added, shuffling through his iPawd.

"You suck at every subject, Kev...except for art, english and history." Bryce pointed out.

"Hey, learning about what old figures did before our time like billions of years ago are pretty cool! They didn't rely on the current technology like we have now." Kevin added.

"If I was living in that era, I would DIE without my phone, my skateboard, TV and laptop. I wouldn't even survive there for 3 days." Milo added.

"What, you think these old guys had it rough before us? That's why they left their mark...so that we wouldn't live through the same struggles they dad." Caden remarked.

Morrison nods at all of this and said, "You guys wanna hang at my place today? My brother's got the old-school 'Mortal Wombat', the original one."

"WHAT?!" everyone except Ash and Meena exclaimed.

"Dude, they still make those things?" asked Kevin, very excitedly.

Morrison nodded his head to confirm it and replied, "It's a limited edition straight from 1995. My brother said that it's one of those rare collectibles and is still playable, but for the modern set."

"We should team up! You against me, Caden against Kevin, Bryce against Shawn and Marshall against Johnny." Milo said, getting hyped up.

Johnny seemed completely eager to go along with it and said, "Sure. I haven't played those when I was a kid because my dad tells me that it's not something a 6 year old should play because it's too gory and too bloody violent for kids."

"So? I've played Legend of Zelwolf and it was violent, but it didn't bother me. All I knew at 5 was that it was a good game." Shawn remarked.

As they were all talking, Morrison received a random blip on his phone and he pulled it out of his pocket, assuming that it might be from his mom, but instead...it was from a random number where the text reads, 'Morrison, please meet me at the suburbs close to Meena's house. There's something important I need to get off my chest about that night that Trevor tried to attack Meena in the woods. I just hope that we can clear the air here so I would set free from my guilt and the reason why I was always doing what Trevor told me. I don't want anything else, but to clear the air.'

As they saw the text from Morrison's phone, Ash was the first one to ask and she said, "How did he know you?"

"That's not the weirdest thing...how did he find my number?" asked Morrison.

"Well...whatever this dude says, let's see what he has to say because I think he should get his butt kicked." Caden stated.

Not long afterwards, Rodrick came over on his skateboard and saw the others walking by the neighborhood to see what's going on, so he followed them and almost caught up with them until they reached Meena's house and once they stopped, it was quiet and they were not sure what to think. Morrison blinked his eyes and responded to this guys' text, saying...'Okay, we're here. Where are you?'

"Must not have shown up, I bet." Rodrick said, from behind.

Hearing Rodrick's voice surprised all of them and Morrison placed his paw on his chest to prevent his heart from coming out of it and asked, "Where'd you come from?"

"Saw you guys there and wanted to see what was going on." Rodrick answered.

"Just give me a second to explain myself."

Everyone turned around after they heard this random voice out of nowhere and Johnny asked, "Oi, who said that?"

Soon enough, this random guy popped out of the tree and revealed himself to be Joshua, one of the former members of Trevor's group and when he faced them, the young gorilla with the orange and white striped beanie, blue and yellow tank top and basketball shorts nervously stood by unsure of what they were gonna do with him, but Rodrick suddenly recognized that guy and asked, "Why aren't you in prison with Trevor's group?"

"Yeah, weren't you gonna kill my neighbor?" asked Morrison.

Joshua sighed at this and looked at everyone and said, "Listen, I know that this looks bad, but Trevor forced me to do it. I didn't even want to take part in everything he did and when I heard about Meena, I didn't think that she would be liable for Trevor's downward spiral. It was his pride, ego and obsession of being popular that brought him to the edge. I didn't want any part of what he was doing whatsoever."

"If you knew it was wrong, why didn't you stop him?" asked Johnny.

Josh lets out a heavy sigh and he just slumped his shoulders as he looked up at the others and answered, "There were so many times that I wanted to stop him. Like, take a stand and say no. But I was too afraid to stand up to him because if I did, he would end up posting pics of my mom in the shower on FaceHoof and InstaRowl, not to mention...expose my orientation to everyone in the world. I just joined in fear because...I have nobody. I just don't have anyone. It's always been me and no one else. With so many things going on in my life, my parents' divorce, coming out of the closet, being a target of my stepdad's anger because of his alcoholism...how much more can anyone take?"

Just hearing Josh's story made some of them feel sorry for him, particularly Meena because despite him almost planning to take her life by Trevor's demand, she could see that there's a huge amount of remorse and regret in Joshua's eyes as they were on the verge of tears and she told him, "I'm so sorry to hear that."

"I didn't want to do it because you look like such a sweet and kind person. When I saw your eyes, it just broke me. I knew that I couldn't go through with this." Joshua replied.

"How does a guy like you get associated with these jerks?" asked Rodrick.

"I ask myself the same questions. Mostly because of fear, that Trevor would give me what it's like to be in the rich lifestyle and that I have no one to call my family. But sometimes, the things that they want me to do just made me question my purpose there. Often times, I would be the lookout person in case cops come by. It's a role I dread the most because I know that overtime, my role will catch up with me." Joshua answered.

Johnny knows that role all too well as he knew what that part feels like when he was asked by his dad to take part in the family criminal business and he blinked his eyes as he felt a lot of empathy for him and Morrison said, "You showed once ounce of goodness when you refused to do it."

"Yeah...but now, I got no one. These guys were the closest things I have to being accepted." Joshua added.

Morrison then reached out to Josh and he said, "Well...how about a new group of friends that will accept you as you are and that will always help you in the right direction?"

"I don't even know where I can find friends like that." Joshua replied, a little bit saddened.

"We do." Ash stated.

Josh then looked at them and suddenly, what Ash was alluding to who he's surrounded with now and that literally took him by surprise and asked, "You guys? After everything Trevor put you guys through?"

"Hey, all of that was Trevor's doing, not yours. So really, it's not your fault at all." Johnny responded.

"You can be a part of us and we'll be there for you, if you let us." Morrison added.

It was a lot to think about as Joshua couldn't believe that they would be so willing to be their friend after everything that had happened, but ultimately...with Trevor and his crew out of the picture, he had felt as if he had gotten a second chance to restart his life with the right group of friends and he blinked his eyes and he just humbly accepted that offer and said, "I would like that."

"Awesome. We can start by hanging out at my place." Morrison replied.

With that in mind, Joshua lets out a smile and just felt like a weight has lifted off of his shoulders as he walked alongside Morrison and crew to his place and Joshua said, "About what had happened, I'm really, really sorry. I just didn't really know what to do."

"Apology accepted, dude. It's all in the past now." Morrison added.

"That's right. I've already forgiven you." Meena agreed.

Now Joshua has officially been cleansed from all of the crap he had to deal with Trevor and he's now a new part of the group...this time, one that holds a lot of meaning and purpose for him.

* * *

New member of the crew as Joshua's been redeemed! Stay tuned for more!


	41. Chilling at the House

And Morrison shows half of the Moon Theater crew plus Joshua their chill place...

* * *

Chapter 41: Chilling at the House

By the time they reached Morrison's place, Morrison opened the door to the back part of the house, removed his sneakers and sets it down on the ground and as everyone came in, they did the same with their sneakers as they set theirs down on the guest mats in different linings and Morrison leads them downstairs to the basement and as everyone walked down the steps to the hallway, he stands to the door with a very smirky look and said, "What you are about to see will have your mind blown."

"Dude, we already know about the game room. We've like lived in it for a long time." Milo pointed out.

Morrison chuckled and said, "I know. I was saying it for dramatic effect."

By then, Morrison opened the door and the sight of the many video game consoles, controllers and huge games with a giant flat-screen TV drew Johnny, Ash, Meena and Josh in with full on excitement. The room has been surrounded by arcade games (some old-school ones and new school), hockey table, foosball table, juice and soda bar. Johnny was blown away by all of this and he asked, "Is this a dream?"

"Even I walk in and ask the same question." Morrison replied.

"How come you've never shown us this before?" asked Ash.

"Well, you've never been to my place before, Ash." Morrison answered.

Josh blinked his eyes and is trying to take it all in as he's never seen anything like this before and he asked, "Are you like...rich or something?"

"Nah, we're not really that rich. My dad used to be a lawyer until he went into business for himself." Morrison answered.

"Seriously? Your dad was a lawyer?" asked Ash.

"Has been for 25 years until he hung up his lawyer shoes not too long ago and is now taking all he's learned on the field into a pizza/arcade parlor." Morrison added.

"Yeah, Mo's dad had the idea to renovate the basement where everyone can just hang out and be kids and created a very personalized arcade room/soda bar/movie theater all wrapped up in one room." Milo responded.

"I could hang out here." Ash said, very impressed.

"Not only that, but it's also a music room too. Whenever I need some space to practice or even just go for the fun of it, I just pick up my guitar, piano, drums and other instruments and just let it all go." Morrison replied.

"I oughta see that music room." Johnny added.

"Yo, guys...can we play some Mortal Wombat now?" asked Marshall, getting very hyped.

Morrison chuckled as he got to the couch, turns on his video game controller, pops in the old school Mortal Wombat and brings in controllers for some while Ash and Meena were watching the boys rule the game. Morrison and crew completely owned whatever round they were on, some even just going after their opponents. Morrison vs Johnny, Caden vs Marshall, Rodrick vs Milo, Shawn vs Kevin and Bryce vs Josh. New to the whole experience, Josh was a little unsure about how to do this, but Bryce was able to teach Josh a few things in terms of playing Mortal Wombat.

"I've never played any video games like this before." Josh added.

"What kinds of games you usually play?" asked Bryce.

"Just racing games, Howl of Duty, Armadillo's Creed and Super Zebra Bros...things like that." Josh answered.

Bryce nodded his head and he knew that those games were so good and he said, "Mortal Wombat is like next-level awesomeness. You'll get the hang of it."

Josh became inexperienced with several other video games, but he's willing to give it a shot and see how it goes and he participated in this game and before long, he's starting to get the hang of it and he's just taking it all in. Josh lets out a breathless exhale and just felt this sense of confidence rose up a little bit and Bryce looked at Josh, giving him an approving nod that he's learned a lot fast.

Most of the boys kept playing Mortal Wombat and they had a newfound respect for older video games that are more awesomer than some that came out today, which is mostly a bigger understatement. Morrison lead the charge in terms of high scores, but both Johnny and Milo were a little close in proximity of taking Morrison's score, but all of them completely obliterated Vincent's score down to 12th place. When Morrison his brother's high score getting lowered, he was completely awestruck by beating his big brother on his own scores again, yet he knew that Vincent is a sore loser when it comes to being outscored.

"Man, I'm gonna be so screwed." Morrison responded.

"How come?" asked Johnny.

"We all dominated the high scores of Mortal Wombat and we placed my big bro's score down to 12th place." Morrison answered.

When Morrison showed them the scores, they were all astonished to see not only their scores dominating each other, but they dominated over Vincent's scores as well and they responded, "Dude..."

"Yeah, you're toast." Marshall responded.

"But that was an awesome game, man. My big sister beat me at Shut Up and Dance 4 and I out-scored her and some of her friends." Caden responded.

Morrison chuckled in shock and asked, "How'd she take it?"

"She did not take it well at all...so much so that she blabbed about it on her Twimmer and FaceHoof." Caden answered.

"Your sister and my brother belong together." Morrison said, jokingly.

After playing Mortal Wombat for an hour, most of his friends were about to head back to their homes and some to the skating park and Josh was about to walk back home, but he turned to Morrison and humbly just told him, "Thanks for giving me a chance to be around people that look out for me."

"We all look out for each other, Josh." Morrison said, reaching out to the troubled gorilla.

Josh blinked his eyes a few times and for the first time in his life, he felt accepted and like he has a voice that he can speak for himself and is surrounded by people who actually care for him and that's the one thing he never had or never thought he would get had he stuck around with Trevor and his gang long enough and he asked, "Will I see you guys at school?"

"Like, of course man." Morrison added.

By then, Josh and Morrison exchanged cell numbers and afterwards, Josh headed out the door with peace in his heart and went home and before long, Johnny, Ash and Meena were heading out the door as well to hang out at the Moon Theater and when asked by Johnny to join them, Morrison knew that he couldn't resist this chance as he turned to them and said, "Let me get my guitar real quick."

* * *

Morrison's official first day at the Moon Theater begins...


	42. Sense of Belonging

Sorry for the long-awaited hiatus! Been busy and/or distracted lately...but I'm back now! We're getting back to where we left off!

* * *

Chapter 42: Sense of Belonging

Morrison then joined Ash, Johnny and Meena on their way to the Moon Theater with guitar case on shoulder and within several minutes or so, they made it in just in time before Buster Moon hits the stage and joined alongside Rosita, Gunter and Mike to see what's the new agenda for them. Buster then recognized Morrison's presence coming in and as he stepped towards the stage, he said, "Morrison, glad to see you with us today."

"Glad to be here, Mr. Moon." Morrison replied, happily.

"All righty, then. We have got something spectacular in the next three weeks; a fundraising concert to throw due to the victims' families found underneath that wooded area and to help pay for their funerals. So, let's all rehearse your song of choice to perform at this fundraiser." Buster stated.

Most of them were stoked about what kind of performances they'll think of to perform at the fundraiser and in Morrison's perspective, he figured that this is an opportunity to sing for the ones affected by this tragedy that was caused by his former teammate/rival and to just showcase his love for music, in spite of shying away from performing in front of big crowds. As soon as Morrison looks around this big stage at the Moon Theater, he could tell that he feels as if he's back to where he started; just embracing the stage and visioning what it was like to get out there and sing.

Memories of music camp were flashing back in his mind that he enjoyed every summer there when it comes to learning instruments, performing and also...meeting Meena for the first time. That's one part of a summer that he'll always remember the most among all others that is the direct highlight of that camp and now that there's 'chemistry growing' between the two, he knows just how much he admired her so much.

"Morris?"

Morrison suddenly broke out of his trance and turns around to see Meena right behind him and she walks right behind him and he responded, "I was just thinking."

"About what?" asked Meena.

"About everytime I walk on any stage, it feels like any worry I have just fades away and focus on the moment." Morrison added.

Meena could relate to what Morrison is thinking about as she had to conquer her fear of stage fright as she first set foot in the stage in front of everyone and since the talent show before the re-opening of the Moon Theater, she just felt this amazing confidence inside of her and she said, "That's what it does to you. You don't think about anything except singing."

"I just love that feeling. I can only hope that I can get some of that back." Morrison added.

"You already have, slowly but surely. Just believe in yourself like you've always believed in me, even when I didn't have that chance before." Meena added.

That advice helped reignited Morrison's faith in performing onstage again and has to overcome a lot of struggle over the past 5 years of pulling himself away from performing due to negative jealousy from his so-called random enemies at middle school that gave him so much crap with the exception of Meena, Milo, Marshall and some of his friends he has grown up with and he takes a deep breath and said, "Thanks, Meena."

"Anytime." Meena replied.

Both of them stared at each other again as their eyes were locked in towards each other, almost as if in a romance trance and suddenly...

"Hey, loverkids...you coming backstage or what? We ain't got all evening here." Mike said, coming into the stage.

"We'll be a second." Meena answered.

Mike walks back out and afterwards, Morrison chuckles at Mike's little personality and asked, "Is he always like this?"

"He's a sweet person, once you get to know him. We didn't get along at first, but we're good friends now. I still get called 'Jumbo' every now and then, but it's in a friendly term." Meena added.

Both of them headed backstage as Meena went in to one rehearsal room to practice her song choice as Morrison went into another room to think of something to perform at the fundraising. He pulled out his phone and looked through his playlist for assistance for what might be the best song for him to do. Most of the songs he's got contains elements from alternative, punk, grunge, metal, indie, EDM, hip-hop, pop punk, pop rock, classic rock and some pop, but with good sense instead of the cheesy teen pop anthems that doesn't make a lot of sense to him.

Then, he wrote down a list of potential choices to add and afterwards, he went further more to his music apps; iHowlRadio, Stripe-ify, Pengui-ora and Orange Music for more inspiration and as he shuffled through them, he found this one song he had listened to on Stripe-ify mounds of times as what he calls a personal favorite that describes his lowest moment he had faced those 5 years ago and though he doesn't like cheesy pop music, one of them stood out to him the most and became his mantra to rise above that struggle. He takes his portable speakers alongside a Beats by Grey headphones on the side and he presses play and as it plays, he sits down and got himself immersed in the music.

He bobbed his head to the song and it was like the memories of what had happened 5 years ago; with the dealings of being picked on harshly, targeted by online death threats and victim of furious jealousy from others that almost claimed him, but those hardships he had faced made him stronger in the end, despite not performing for bigger crowds or stages since them and as the music swells up, he definitely felt a huge amount a emotions sweeping in and he just got so lost into it, that he felt every ounce all at once.

As soon as the music kept playing, he knew that this would be the right choice for to perform it and that was a perfect showcase of humility and strength that comes into the vocals and Morrison sung along to it and each time he repeats the lyrics, there's a sense of vulnerability and emotion that goes into those feelings and it came with a lot of emotional pain that went ahead and he felt every single sense of it as he's singing along, unaware that it captured the attention from Johnny, Meena, Ash, Gunter, Rosita, Mike, Buster, Eddie and Ms. Crawly standing there as Morrison kept belting out the words, all while almost breaking down in tears.

As soon as he took a minute to gather himself together and pause, he turned around to see everyone standing there and he slowly removes the headphones from his ears and wiped his eyes quickly and said, "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough, Morrison. Did you...just sing that?" asked Buster, completely bewildered.

Morrison was just overcome with so much emotion that he didn't really answer and just the tears flowing was enough to seal the answer and Buster said, "Whatever you just sang, there's a story beneath it."

"There is. It's actually my favorite song that I've sang many times over and over, mostly in my room because it just connected me in such a deeper way from the lowest point in my life." Morrison answered.

"When those kids became cruel to you 5 years ago?" asked Johnny.

"Yep." Morrison replied.

"Amazing...I'm excited to hear you perform it at the fundraiser." Buster stated, completely blown away.

Knowing that it's an emotional song for Morrison to sing, keeping it together will be a challenge for him because it made him cry so many times because of it's personal connection with it, but also using that to help inspire others may give him the drive he needs to show the others that he still has it and that the event that happened when he was 11 didn't break him one second and Meena could see it in Morrison's eyes that he's gonna succeed. Rosita comes over to Morrison and said, "You're a fighter, Morrison."

"Trust me, there's a lot more about me you never knew." Morrison added.

"I know plenty enough to know that you're an amazing person and a performer. You've got a huge amount of passion in you. It's a rare quality to find because you've got a fantastic voice as big as your heart." Johnny stated.

Morrison sees everyone at the Moon Theater as his second family and he's just appreciative that he has a place where he truly belongs and he smiled at them and said, "That means a lot."

"Dude, you're officially a part of us." Eddie added.

"I am, aren't I?" asked Morrison, with a humble chuckle.

* * *

Rehearsals begin in the next chapter...and some new folks at the theater!


	43. Auditioning for New Acts pt 1

So with the new Moon Theater, just having Buster Moon and Ms. Crawly to run it may not be enough, so here's what comes out of it...

* * *

Chapter 43: Auditioning for New Acts, pt. 1

A few days later, Buster starting thinking of ideas to get everyone to audition for this fundraiser to add some new acts alongside the regular ones and as he paced around back and forth thinking, in pops in a young 18-year old german shepherd wearing a blue and tan cap backwards, wearing just a T-shirt, dark blue jeans, black and white Convulture sneakers, weighs about 177 pounds, stands at 5'1 and a 20 year old white tiger wearing khaki pants, red and white shirt and Zeebrock sneakers walk into Buster's office and one of them said, "Excuse me, are you Buster Moon?"

Buster turns around to see two young guys coming in and he said, "Yes, may I help you both?"

"Yeah, we saw in a flyer at the Moon Theater website that you need some social media representatitives to spread the word about local events, plays, concerts and things going on to keep everyone up to date on what's happening." the german shepherd answered.

"My name's Dominick and this is my college roommate Brock." the white tiger added.

"Nice to meet you both. I have to ask, do you have any experience with social media?" asked Buster.

"Yes, sir. We're on there 24/7, FacePawHoof, Twimmer, InstaGrrr, FlapChat, etc...and when we saw the ad on your site, we figured maybe we can use that chance to make a living out of it." Dominick replied.

"Same as me. Like, whatever we can do to spread the word to make sure everyone's in the know." Brock agreed.

Buster thought about this and from looking at them, he can see their qualities are equally shown in terms of spreading the news about events a little faster and he asked, "How fast can you spread the word about an upcoming event in my theater?"

"Like lightning quick." Brock answered.

Both Dominick and Brock pulled out their phones and headed straight for their social media apps and as they headed towards the Moon Theater site, they can see that they're in dire need of a social media site and set up several accounts in different sites for the theater itself and as soon as they did so, Brock asked, "What's the event?"

"We're holding a fundraiser in my theater in 3 weeks and I want almost half of the town to come in and audition! Whomever gets chosen will perform on that event along with my regular cast! So, please show up and let your talents be seen!" Buster exclaimed.

Dominick had already recorded this part and afterwards, he posted it on the Moon Theater's FacePawHoof page as well as on their Twimmer page, plus Brock had recorded the same thing and posted them on both the theater's InstaGrr and FlapChat stories all over and Dominick replied, "We've posted them already. Should take a while for an immediate response."

"It's already posted?" asked Buster, a little bewildered.

"Yes, sir." they both replied.

That seemed to surprise Buster the most as how fast these two posted these videos as well as a caption in the video where on all of the Moon Theater's social media pages chimed in as well and they showed the proof to Buster by both their phones and pad in those social media apps and Buster was completely hopeful that many people will get the message soon and he said, "Can you meet some of the cast?"

"Sure." they replied.

Buster hasn't hired them as of yet, but just in case it turns out really well, he showed them around the Moon Theater from the entrance, backstage, rehearsal rooms and the main stage. One grand look at the stage and both Dominick and Brock were completely blown away by how much it has changed, yet still kept the theater the same as is with a much more open space for audiences.

"Pretty amazing, huh?" asked Buster.

Dominick chuckled at this and said, "Very amazing, Mr. Moon."

"This is what I call a crash course in the theater." Brock agreed.

Buster nodded at this and he turned to the two and asked, "So, what are you both majoring in college?"

"I'm going for my major in theater, the dramatic arts." Brock answered.

"And I'm majoring in music as well as marketing. Like bring music to a grand market." Dominick answered.

That completely impressed Buster the most that these two are majoring in something bigger than themselves and since they're surrounded by the theatrical arts, giving them a job there might be a great starting point for them as they're in college and said, "Very good for you both."

Soon enough, in comes Morrison coming in a little early to the auditorium and he said, "Hey, Mr. Moon. Sorry I'm a little early, but there was like 100 people coming up to the front of the theater, something about an audition for the fundraiser."

As Buster makes his response, he suddenly froze in shock when he realized what he had said and asked, "How many?"

"He said 100 people are standing in the auditorium...which has now turned into 135." Eddie replied, coming up from behind Morrison.

Buster walked out of the auditorium to see what he's talking about and headed straight for his office and while there, Ms. Crawly comes by and said, "Mr. Moon, you've got a big crowd coming in the theater."

He peeked out his window and saw that half of the town, which has now added more in line surrounded the theater, all eager to audition and suddenly, it hit him...the only way that half of the town knew about it and came in just as fast was because of the fact that the theater's social media pages caught wind of it and he asked, "Ms. Crawly?"

"Yes, Mr. Moon?" asked Ms. Crawly, coming up from behind.

"How did everyone get here?" asked Buster.

"Oh...it's all over the computer. Take a look." Ms. Crawly responded.

Buster went over to the old computer, typed in FacePawHoof, logging into the theater's page and from his shock, the video that was posted 20 minutes ago grew to over 12,000 likes, 75,000 shares and 1.2 million comments and he went over to the Twimmer page and in an instant, it has gotten 12,872 re-twims and 3,000 likes and on InstaGrr's page, it's gotten 17,344 views and 900 comments, proving that the power of social media hit a fever pitch.

Realizing that these two were responsible for spreading the word in a short amount of time, Buster definitely knew that this is a great way to spread the word across for future events and he lets out a shocked chuckle and he said, "Ms. Crawly, open the doors. It's audition time!"

"Yes, Mr. Moon." Ms. Crawly replied, walking out of the room.

Dominick and Brock slowly walked into Buster's office and Brock was the first one to say, "Now it's grown to 300 people."

Buster turned to the two and with a huge amount of excitement on his face, he knew that they were the perfect fit for the job and he said to them, "Your first day at work begins tomorrow."

* * *

And the audition begins!


	44. Auditioning for New Acts pt 2

The audition process begins! For the fundraiser!

* * *

Chapter 44: Auditioning for New Acts, pt. 2

Before long, mounds of animals from different species surrounded the Moon Theater, looking forward for their moment on the spotlight almost very similar to the talent show 'competition' that had occurred some months ago and most of them were inside the theater waiting for their chance to be chosen on stage for performing at the fundraiser and Ms. Crawly was in front of the crowd, trying to gain control of their excitement to form a single file. Buster just widened his eyes in excitement about the whole thing and couldn't wait for the audition process to start.

Throughout most of the day, several animals have auditioned on stage to showcase their singing and dancing qualities, whether solo or with a group in all species ranging from shrimp, pigs, warthogs, sheep, rabbits, foxes, kangaroos, wolves, tigers, cheetahs, turtles, snails, dogs, cats, elephants, bears, alligators, crocodiles, giraffes, gorillas and so on; from all ages who could carry a note. Most of them captured Buster's attentions and Miss Crawly would be in the fence, enthusiastic or unsure about most of the talent that's there. It had lasted throughout most of today and though they're enthusiastic, they sorta struggled to find which ones would join in, though quite a few do stood out.

Buster had taken some notes about some of the talents that have been seen before him and some that were originally considered for the talent competition that auditioned before returned for their own redemption to secure their spots to rejoin the spotlight. Most of the majority of the auditioners were teenagers and college students from all walks of life that has that special talent that is undeniable.

One auditioner, a 16-year old albino tiger, wearing khaki shorts, grey t-shirt with a black and grey striped hoodie and sandals walked to the stage and he just looked a little nervous and self-conscious of himself and his surroundings and he said, "Hello."

"Hello there, young man. What have you got for us today?" asked Buster.

"Um...just a...a song that I really like singing to. It's one of my recent favorites. Forgive me for my anxiety. I usually don't do things like this...at least in front of people." the young tiger stated, a little scared.

"It's okay. Just take a deep breath and just breathe." Buster responded.

The albino tiger closed his eyes and took a deep breath and exhaled deeply as he got close to the microphone and Buster asked, "Ready?"

"Mm-hmm." the young albino tiger answered.

Soon enough, the music starts playing as the young tiger started opening his mouth and began to sing, amidst his timid and shy demeanor from the inside.

 _Just stop your crying_

 _it's the sign of the times_

 _Welcome to the final show_

 _Hope you're wearing your best clothes_

 _You can't bribe the door_

 _on your way to the sky_

 _You look pretty good down here_

 _But you ain't really good_

 _We never learn, we've been here before_

 _Why are we always stuck here running from_

 _the bullets_

 _the bullets?_

 _We never learn, we've been here before_

 _Why are we always stuck here running from_

 _the bullets_

 _the bullets?_

 _Just stop your crying_

 _it's the sign of the times_

 _We got to get away from here_

 _We got to get away from here_

 _Just stop your crying_

 _it'll be all right_

 _You told me that the end is near_

 _We got to get away from here_

 _Just stop your crying_

 _Baby, it's the sign of the times_

 _We gotta get away_

 _We got to get away...!_

 _We got to get away..._

 _We got to get away..._

 _We got to get awayyyyyyyy..._

 _We got to, we got to run_

 _We got to, we go to run_

 _We got to, we go to run..._

That tiger held that last note on that 'run' for 90 seconds even after the ending piano outrun and after that, he just let out a very heavy exhale as he looked at a very stunned Buster and Ms. Crawly sitting there. Buster just couldn't believe what he had just seen and even Ms. Crawly was shocked by this and that made the albino tiger a little bit nervous and asked, "Was it that bad?"

"I don't think I've ever heard anything like that before. Right, Miss Crawly?" asked Buster, who turned to Miss Crawly for comment.

Ms. Crawly just had her jaw dropped by that talent of which her eye popped out of her socket and landed on the ground and Buster looked at the young man and said, "Thank you very much, young man."

The albino tiger walked out of the stage a little disappointed and mortified, thinking that he blew the audition and most of the auditioneers who were waiting for their turn looked completely surprised by his reaction after he left the stage, most of them blown away and awestruck by his voice. One of the audtioneers that was waiting, an 18 year old polar bear was completely blown away by that albino tiger's pipes and noticed that he was kicking himself for auditioning. He felt sorry for him and wanted to compliment him, but Ms. Crawly had called his name to have his turn. That was a big struggle for him to choose from comforting this kid or auditioning. He figured maybe he can compliment him after his turn as he went up to the stage while carrying his guitar.

"Hi, guys." the polar bear said.

"Well, hello there. Nervous today?" asked Buster.

The young polar bear blinked his eyes and replied, "A little bit."

"We all are. But just take your time, take a deep breath and sing." Buster answered.

The young polar bear pulls out his guitar, sits down on the stage and then strums his guitar and began singing to an original song he had written.

 _Where do I go from here?_

 _What's coming my way?_

 _Am I just somebody_

 _looking for somewhere to get away?_

 _Like anyone understands me_

 _if only they really knew_

 _all the things in my life_

 _that I have been through_

 _I can't be perfect for you_

 _And pretend that I'm something I'm not_

 _Why should I apologize_

 _for what I'm really about?_

 _I can't change for you_

 _It's not your choice_

 _so just let me say it_

 _in my own voice_

 _I'm sorry it had to come to this_

 _but I'm not gonna be stuck in your jam_

 _I'm just gonna be myself_

 _because I am who I am_

After the final strum, Buster looked enthusiastic about this one and he said, "Very nice! Thank you very much!"

The polar bear nods his head, picks his guitar back up and walks backstage and he sees the young albino tiger still just in a very despondant state and comes in to cheer him up a little bit as the audition process continues on. Several groups and soloists continued auditioning covering everything from pop, rock, punk, metal, hip-hop, soul, R&B, country, jazz, swing, ballads, blues and dance. Most of their vocals were completely amazing and some were okay and it took several hours to keep auditioning for more.

One auditioner, a 21 year old baboon walks onto the stage with an electric keyboard, sets it on a stand, places the mic in the middle part, sits down and begins playing the keyboards as well as incorporating a drum beat into it as he began singing a little track.

 _The day I first met you_

 _you told me that you'd never fall in love_

 _Now that I get you_

 _I know fear is what it really was_

 _Now here we are, so close_

 _yet so far, haven't I passed the test_

 _When will you realize_

 _Baby, I'm not like the rest?_

 _Don't wanna break your heart_

 _Wanna give your heart a break_

 _I know you're scared it's wrong_

 _like you might make a mistake_

 _There's just one life to live_

 _and there's no time to waste, to waste_

 _So let me give your heart a break_

 _Give your heart a break_

 _Let me give your heart a break_

 _Your heart a break_

 _there's just so much you can take_

 _Give your heart a break_

 _Let me give your heart a break_

 _Your heart a break_

 _Oh yeah, yeah..._

 _The day I first met you_

 _you told me that you'd never fall in love..._

Afterwards, Buster became delighted by that performance and he said, "Wow! That you very much, Nathan."

"Thank you, sir." Nathan said, happily.

He brought his keyboard out and carried it backstage as everyone else kept on auditioning for their spots for performances for the fundraiser. Unexpectedly, Joshua comes right in and humbly waits his turn to audition and he hopes that this will be a start of something new life for him and after going through all the rough patches that had plagued him, including being involved with Trevor's group, he's hoping that he'll shed those experiences away and take all of those hardships and turn them into life lessons.

After just 30 minutes of waiting, someone called his name and the young gorilla became a little nervous about this and he walks in and walks towards the stage, facing Buster Moon and Ms. Crawly for the first time and he said, "Hello."

"Hello there." Buster replied.

"I'm Joshua and...well, this is really my first time doing this. I've never actually sang in front of people before." Joshua explains.

"Really? Well, let's see what you sound like." Buster added.

As the music plays, Joshua closed his eyes and just sung the first few parts of the song and the minute he opened his mouth, something unexpectedly happened that blew everyone away, including the auditoners.

 _I can't sleep tonight_

 _Wide awake and so confused_

 _Everything's aligned_

 _but I'm bruised_

 _I need a voice to echo_

 _I need a light to take me home_

 _I kinda need a hero_

 _Is it you?_

 _I've never seen the forest for the trees_

 _I could really use your melody_

 _Baby, I'm a little blind_

 _I think it's time for you to find me_

 _Can you be my nightingale?_

 _Sing to me, I know you're there_

 _You could be my sanity_

 _But really please, send me to sleep_

 _Say you'll be my nightingale_

 _I don't know what I'd do without you_

 _Your voice is like a whisper coming through_

 _As long as you're with me here tonight_

 _I'm good_

 _Can you be my nightingale_

 _Feel so close, I know you're there...!_

 _Whoa-oh-oh...nightingale_

 _Sing to me, I know you're there_

 _Cuz baby you're my sanity_

 _But really please, send me to sleep_

 _Say you'll be my nightingale..._

Every ounce of vulnerability, humility and fragility in Joshua's voice became crystal clear that there was a story hidden underneath it and he just told his story in the most powerful way that knocked everyone else off of his feet, including Buster. He was completely speechless by this rendition that all he could say was, "Thank you."

Josh nodded his head and quietly walked backstage and waited until they're called back for callbacks to see who's gonna be chosen and soon afterwards, Buster said, "That's all of them. Can you bring everyone back to the stage, Ms. Crawly?"

Ms. Crawly got her megaphone and she said, in a very loud amplified voice, alarming Buster again as she said, "Hello! Can I have everyone back to the stage, please?"

Buster picked his ears to make sure he didn't lose a filling and said, "Thank you, Ms. Crawly."

"You're welcome, Mr. Moon." Ms. Crawly replied, with the megaphone close to Buster's face again and it left Buster a little frozen afterwards.

* * *

And the final cuts come in! The songs were 'Sing of the Times' by Harry Styles, 'Give Your Heart a Break' and 'Nightingale' from Demi Lovato and a song I had made up on the fly. Stay tuned for more!


	45. Chosen Few

And the moment we've all (or the auditioners) have been waiting for! It's an homage to who gets in or cut from the next level from Sing, only it's the new acts!

* * *

Chapter 45: Chosen Few

All the acts that have auditioned throughout today stood to the stage, all waiting for the results of wondering if they had made it or not but regardless of what happens, what really counts is the fact that they've given it their all or have taken part of it and soon enough, in comes Buster Moon walking on the stage facing many than 200 or more people to announce their fate and he said, "I'd like to thank you all for attending the audition on who's gonna perform at the fundraiser in 3 weeks. You've shown excellent promise and your talents are beyond extraordinary. Some of you made the mark and some of you didn't, but don't be discouraged if you didn't make it through. Just learn from this experience knowing that there will be many more opportunities coming your way."

That added pressure just gave most of the auditioners some anxiety, but each are hopeful to advance through and Buster looks at most of them and said, "We've got some of our regular acts here at the theater, including a new addition here. So, we can each have 12 acts for this fundraiser performance."

Buster brought in his checklist and went towards mostly the group part first and he said, "All right...when I call your group name, step forward please."

Most of the groups or bands were anxious to know their fates as to who will get picked and Buster called them one-by-one and said, "Newfound Rebels, Jimmy and the Moonlight Crew, Breakout Mafia, Sunrise Eggs, Order and Destroy, Cupid's Boogers, Stars Volcano and How to Puke While Standing Up, please come forth."

The bands that have been called stood up to the front of the stage in front of Buster and he looks at them for a second and he then said, "May I have Newfound Rebels, Jimmy and the Moonlight Crew, Breakout Mafia and Stars Volcano step to the front, please?"

The bands Buster called upon stood to the front of the line and Buster started thinking for a second and said, "Those standing in the front row, you're in!"

The four bands of Buster's choosing breathed a huge sigh of relief that they've been chosen while the ones in the back row were shocked and saddened that they didn't get picked and left the stage without a word, which added more anxiety to the remaining bands and groups as they were still waiting for their fates to come to light. The first four that were picked can head backstage to celebrate and Buster had two more spots in the group parts left to participate and he said, "Two more spots left open. Which ones will have it?"

Some of the bands were completely nervous and for one band member of one of the groups felt like he was gonna have a huge panic attack because of the stress and he was just sweating like crazy and his heart was going at a trillion beats a minute and within several seconds of letting himself cave in under the pressure and anxiety of whether or not his band may get picked, he lets out a very shaken exhale, which caught one of the band members' attention and asked in a hushed tone, "Mark, you okay?"

Mark wasn't responding as his anxiety levels began rising and rising and rising until...his body went limp and just...

WHAM!

Mark collapsed onto the floor very hard, face first on the stage, which received a massive jolt of shock to everyone, even capturing Buster's attention as he saw this young teenage baboon collapse on the stage and exclaimed, "We need a medic!"

Most of the auditioners surrounded the kid to make sure he's okay and has gotten a pulse, which to the shock of some of his band members, doesn't. It looks as if Mark has gotten so much stress, anxiety and panic over what was going to happen whether or not the band was being picked for a spot and just caved in under the pressure. One of the members called emergency immediately and they rushed him out of the stage and waited outside until an ambulance can actually come.

The turnaround of the events completely stunned them and it left Buster completely puzzled and stunned because he couldn't believe what was happening. 10 minutes went by and after that, Buster returned to the stage and said, "The young man's on his way to the hospital. Let's hope he has a speedy recovery soon."

As heavy as that moment was, Buster continued on choosing two bands of his choosing to pick the performers of the upcoming fundraiser while everyone else was still anxious about who's gonna be next in the solo rounds as well as hoping that they don't pass out like what Mark did, but are still keeping him in their minds. Buster then chose a pop punk band called 'The Rebel Nation Army' and an all-girl group named 'Tiger Fury', which concluded the group portion of six in this one.

The rest of the bands were a little disappointed that they didn't get picked, but they're not letting it get to them too much as Buster said, "Thank you to everyone else who participated and audtioned for the band parts. Keep your heads up and there's always another opportunity to try again."

As the remaining chosen bands left the stage, it was now down to the soloists who were anxiously waiting for the last six spots to be filled and who was ultimately chosen. The young albino tiger had a very grim feeling that he may be cut off from the auditions because he felt like he had bombed his audition and Buster said, "When I call your name, step forward please."

This became a huge nail-biting moment for everyone involved because their talents are hanging in the balance of Buster Moon and Buster walks in and he said, "Victoria, Renae, Tanner, Braxton, Carly, Maggie and Luke."

Those whom he named stepped forward and all of them were just anxious to hear while some were hopeful to be picked and participate in the fundraiser and Buster said, "May I ask Maggie, Carly, Luke and Renae to take a step back, please?"

The four stepped back and was left with only Victoria, Tanner and Braxton standing there unsure of what the outcome was gonna be and Buster said, "Front row, you're the first three to participate in the show."

All three took a huge sigh of relief that they made it through while the ones in the back row were a little disappointed, but it wasn't gonna dampen their spirits too much and as the cuts continue, the young albino tiger and Joshua were just nervous as to if they're gonna make through, but the young albino tiger knew that his response would be going home and after Buster selected a young 35-year old female panther named Emily who was ecstatic to hear she made it and soon after, Joshua was picked as the fifth choice, much to his relief and he headed backstage and that leaves with two choices; the albino tiger and a 45-year old water buffalo.

It was all the albino tiger was thinking about, getting cut because he was singing and as Buster looks at the two of them, he said, "Okay, the final spot belongs to..."

The albino tiger was expecting the worst to come as he closed his eyes that he'll never get picked but then...

"Brutus, you've got the final spot!"

Brutus opened his eyes and then shock came over him as he had heard his name come out of Buster Moon and the older water buffalo patted the teen albino tiger in the head and said, "Congratulations, kid."

The fact that Brutus was picked was both shocking and unexpected because he had expected to be rejected and he was kinda happy that he's picked and he walked backstage, still in shock and paralyzed with amazement and the young polar bear comes to him and said, "Congrats, dude."

Brutus was just shaking in full on shock as he couldn't believe what just happened here and most of the others that got picked congratulated him as well, plus several of the regular theater members showed up to congratulate them for participating in this fundraiser performance. Before long, Buster called out the ones that were picked, plus Rosita, Gunter, Mike, Ash, Meena, Johnny and Morrison to the stage and as they did so, Buster enthusiastically said, "Congratulations to the chosen selected to participate in the fundraiser! Our regular theater members will show you all the ropes on how the theater works and rehearsal begins tomorrow. So for now, why don't you all just get acquainted with each other for the time being?"

So far, the turnaround turned out great and everyone in the theater started to get a little acquainted with each other as they're stoked up for what will come pretty soon as the fundraiser makes its way soon...

* * *

The rehearsal for the fundraiser begins...


	46. Rehearsal Begins

And now...we get to see Morrison plus the new acts settle in the Moon Theater!

* * *

Chapter 46: Rehearsal Begins

By the next day, the first day for rehearsal began and the first person that had attended was Morrison as he was 95% completed with his homework near the rehearsal room and it was only just one subject he had to do; mathematics. Though it's his least favorite subject, he thrived on it anyway as he battled through this one page on trigonometry. There were only 6 problems, but he plowed through them like it was nothing and afterwards, he did a second check to see if he got them right. As he was scouring his homework, in comes Mike walking past him and he looks up and said, "Hey, Mike."

"Hey, kid." Mike replied, noticing Morrison on the ground.

Being his utmost nosiness, Mike walks over to Morrison and almost stands on this book where he sees many amount of numbers and different paralell lines that goes from point A to point B, some of which that puzzled Mike and asked, "What is all this? What are you doing?"

"My math homework." Morrison replied.

That confused Mike the most because he didn't know that he could do some homework while backstage and asked, "Why do homework here?"

"Well, two reasons; don't wanna lag behind on my schoolwork while I'm here because education is completely a top priority, at least on my family's point of view. Secondly, my parents made the stipulation with Mr. Moon that I can do my homework before or after rehearsal and also a few breaks in between. So, I'm almost finished. I just gotta double-check so that I got some of the answers right." Morrison explains.

"I've never been that big on math. Who needs a bunch of numbers and other technical stuff to solve problems anyway?" asked Mike, scoffing at that idea.

After Morrison checked on some of them to make sure his calculations are correct, he sets them aside and to respond to Mike's question with an intrigued look on his face, Morrison replied only, "Math is like a gateway to solve problems and crack codes in terms of what life brings out; like science careers, working in aerospace dynamics, tech companies, astronomy...even money."

The final part stopped Mike on his tracks and it was fringed with shock when there's money involved and he turned to Morrison and said, "Money?"

"Yep, you gotta learn how to manage, invest, save, spend, know how much you got or not and know your exact change." Morrison replied.

"Math makes you do that?" asked Mike.

"Yep. And then some." Morrison replied, putting his backpack down to the rehearsal room.

Mike just left without saying a word, still a little confused on how he's very articulate about his homework and how he knows so much about math and couldn't get why he'd do it before rehearsal even begins and he just scoffed and kept walking until he reached the stage. Not long afterwards, Morrison walks into the rehearsal room and hears some piano playing from a further distance and from the sound of the ovaries, he could tell that it's Johnny playing. He knew that he had to join in for a sneak sesh to bring his guitar in, but before he could even have a chance to, in comes the albino tiger teen coming by and he sees Morrison and said, "Excuse me, am I late for rehearsal?"

"Nah, rehearsal hasn't started yet." Morrison replied.

Then, in comes Joshua, much to Morrison's surprise that he's here and asked, "Hey, what you doing here?"

"Sorry if I'm late. Had to go pick up Aziz." Joshua replied, setting his drawstring bag down.

"Aziz?" asked Morrison.

"My guitar." Joshua replied, putting out his guitar to show Morrison.

Morrison blinked his eyes at this and just dug the artwork that was put in this guitar and asked, "Guitar Ultra?"

"Yep. It was actually my uncle's. He left me with this before he committed suicide when I was 7, so it helps me get through a lot of stuff growing up." Joshua added.

"Oh wow..." Morrison added, emphatically.

"I'm sorry to hear that. My uncle was actually murdered when I was 3 by my dad over an ex-girlfriend that my dad used to go out with." the albino tiger added.

"I'm sorry, man." Joshua replied.

"Same here..." Morrison added, pausing because he didn't get the guys' name.

"Oh, I'm sorry...I'm Brutus."

"Brutus. You're here for the fundraiser, too?" asked Morrison.

"Yeah. To tell you the truth, I almost thought I wasn't gonna make it. I was so nervous on my audition yesterday that I felt like I had bombed so miserably." Brutus admitted.

"Dude...I heard you sing yesterday. You got an awesome voice. Why are you so scared of your talent?" asked Morrison.

"Well...it's just that I've never sang in front of people before, much less two people. I'm always used to singing alone, but when people hear it, I just get so scared that I run away and hide." Brutus answered.

"Been there, done that before." Meena said, coming in.

Morrison waved to Meena and smiled at her and she did the same back at him and Meena went over to Brutus and she said, "I heard you sing yesterday and you've got an amazing talent."

As Meena talks to Brutus about the experiences of stage fright, Morrison heads to Joshua because he's very curious as to how he's participating in this and he asked, "Hey, Josh...what made you want to do this?"

"I saw this post on my FaceHoof yesterday for auditions, so I showed up at the theater, waited for my turn to audition, tried out and then I made it through...as one of the six soloists. I didn't really think I had a chance of actually doing it." Joshua answered.

"Why?" asked Morrison.

"I have my reasons." Joshua answered.

Morrison could tell that Josh didn't want to share too much, so he thought that it would be best to leave it at that and not press him too much on anything and nodded at that and he said, "That's cool."

Later on, everyone just started rehearsing their songs to perform for the fundraiser and the first person to practice was Gunter and Rosita as they did their salsa dancing routine while playing a EDM pop song while doing it. Morrison and Johnny were watching from backstage and they were completely impressed with their moves and Johnny lets out a chuckle and said, "Looks like they're getting much better now."

"I'm surprised Rosita's taking all of this in." Ash agreed.

Within a few minutes or so, the newbies rehearsed their butts off with their song choices and performing ideas to kinda set the vibe for this show and Morrison's turn was coming up after Brutus' practice and he's gonna try his best to keep himself composed as he sings his choice of song. He knew that it was a deeply personal, yet emotional song he could ever do because it has struck him to the core after his personal painful experience as a young adolescent and everytime he would sing or listen to it, it would bring him to tears. The biggest hurdle to trying his best not to break down as he's singing and once Buster called his name, Morrison took a deep breath, headed to the stage and sat down on a stool with his guitar.

"Are you ready?" asked Buster.

"I'll try to be." Morrison answered, a little apprehensive.

Morrison tuned his guitar up a little bit and as soon as the song starts playing and Morrison strums his guitar, he begins singing in a low, husky tone and throughout most of the verses, he made it through all right, but as soon as the rest of the song comes in, he's overwhelmed by so much emotions to the point where he's almost crying as he's singing. Buster heard it coming through the vocals and he could tell that Morrison's wearing his heart on his sleeve at that performance and soon afterwards, the music stopped.

Almost everyone is surprised by the vulnerability and pain in Morrison's voice that it was in sheer perfection and it even brought some of the new acts to tears and afterwards, Morrison walks backstage where he sees Johnny almost teary-eyed and that part confirms to Morrison that his performance completely made a powerful impact and he said, "Really?"

"Sorry. It's...just got something in my eye." Johnny said, wiping his eyes to prevent Morrison from seeing those misty-eyed tears.

"I almost lost it, man. That's what it does to me because it's the most depressing song I've ever sung." Morrison added.

"But it just shows how much raw emotion you put into it. That's what's really amazing about how you perform." Johnny stated.

"Thanks, J." Morrison replied, with a smile.

Meena could tell that she was getting teary-eyed after listening to Morrison's song choice rehearsal and she expressed deep desire for it and she said, "You still got it, Mo."

"It's never left. I hope I get to keep it under control when I perform." Morrison replied.

"You will. I know it." Meena said, in the most encouraging way possible.

* * *

I know there are many questions from some of you about what song Morrison is singing that makes it a challenge to hold back the tears...I'm open to suggestions and guesses! Stay tuned!


	47. Easing into the Routine

And if you're wondering how the rehearsal is going, here's the answer...

* * *

Chapter 47: Easing into the Routine

As the days went on, everyone at the Moon Theater rehearsed their parts for the fundraiser performance as well as getting a lot of organizers and everything set up for the event in terms of meeting with the victim's families to analyze everything to accommodate their needs to make this event spread the awareness so that no parent should ever go through this again when it comes to their children and Buster Moon became more than helpful to make sure that it goes smoothly. Meanwhile, everyone else is knee-deep into rehearsals with this pop punk band putting their punk spin on a current pop song with additional lyrics that goes left field from the original one and the sound of the thrashing guitars, banging drums and heavy vocals reverberated throughout the stage and auditorium like it was at a concert and soon afterwards, they ended it with a humongous long chord to offset the dramatic effect.

Afterwards, the guitarist that made that long chord took a deep breath and said, "Now that's how you end a cover."

"We definitely rocked it, bro!" one of the band members added.

As the band left the stage to take a little breather, Brutus comes to the stage and he's trying his best to not let his anxiety show through his performance despite the fact that he's never sung on a stage before and he grabs ahold of the mic and takes a deep breath as the music plays in the background.

 _Why are there so many songs about rainbows_

 _and what's on the other side?_

 _Rainbows are visions, but only illusions_

 _And rainbows have nothing to hide_

 _So we've been told and some choose to believe it_

 _And I know that we'll all wait and see_

 _Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection_

 _The lovers, the dreamers and me_

Joshua, Morrison, Johnny, Meena, Rosita, Gunter, Emily, Victoria, Ash, Tanner and Braxton were watching on the side of the stage and they were surprised to hear Brutus' voice as he's getting more and more comfortable on stage and to Meena, it looks as if Brutus' stage presence came very natural in spite of his awkward nature.

 _And who said every wish can be heard in answer_

 _and wished on a morning star_

 _If somebody thought of that and someone believed it_

 _Then look what it's done so far_

 _What's so amazing that keeps us stargazing_

 _Now what do you think we might see_

 _Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection_

 _The lovers, the dreamers and me_

 _All of us honor is fair_

 _We know that it's probably magic..._

 _Have you been half asleep and have you heard voices?_

 _And I've heard them calling my name_

 _And is this the sweet sound that calls the young sailors_

 _The voice might be one and the same_

 _And I've heard it too many times to ignore it_

 _It's something that I'm supposed to be_

 _Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection_

 _The lovers, the dreamers and me_

 _La-da-da-dee-da-da-da_

 _Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection_

 _The lovers, the dreamers and me_

 _La-da-da-dee-da-da-da_

 _La-la-de-da-da-dee-da-do..._

After the music ended, Brutus took a deep breath as he felt immersed by the music and he just smiled to himself as he headed backstage, but not before greeted by a few others who watched him perform and Meena said, "That was amazing!"

"You think so?" asked Brutus, twiddling his thumbs.

"Think? We know so! Why do you keep holding yourself back?" asked Ash.

"To be honest, I'm always used to singing by myself and if someone hears it, I get super embarrassed because I know that it might annoy some people and I get told several times that I shouldn't sing at all." Brutus answered.

That completely stunned everyone after hearing what Brutus just said about someone thinking that his singing could be counted as annoying and Gunter said, "What are those dumbkoffs talking about? You're like totally talented! Your singing is like hearing the hilltops sing out of the musselberry moutains!"

"Yeah...what Gunter said." Rosita agreed.

"Why would someone think your singing is considered annoying? It's the best thing I've ever heard! Who told you that? Like, give me their names, number, addresses or social media pages because I got something I wanna say to them." Braxton exclaimed.

Morrison motioned Braxton to chill out as to not let Brutus more anxious and he turned to the young albino tiger and said, "What Braxton's almost trying to say is...you're so good at your talent and your singing is full-fledged awesome! Why do you sell yourself short?"

Brutus lets out a deep sigh and told Morrison, "If you haven't noticed, I'm an albino tiger. Part of me is an orange nad black tiger, yet, I barely have any orange and only got white and light grey. Do you know how hard it is to be albino and bi when you're a teenager and everyone has something about you that they use against you? I've always been told that I'll never amount to anything and that I don't even matter."

Morrison blinked his eyes and seemed shocked by that revelation and then he saw Brutus bracing himself for what's to come and he asked, "Why are you making that look?"

"I'm just prepared to hear you say a cruel word about me. Everyone else does because I'm albino." Brutus answered.

Morrison had a mixture of offense, but it was a offended look of concern and sorrow for Brutus and he said, "I don't have anything cruel to say about you."

"Yeah, why would you think we'd do that?" asked Meena, equally as shocked.

Brutus opened his eyes and then unclenched his fist and just looked at everyone as they still stood there, just silent and concerned at this and he said, "Why aren't you guys saying anything cruel about me to my face?"

"Because we're not like that, Brutus. We would never put down anyone, especially someone with a great talent." Johnny answered.

"If it helps any, I've been where you were. I've been hammered by harsh criticism by everyone at my school when I was 11 because I performed at a festival. The students, of course. It had gotten so bad that I quit performing, but for some reason...it gave me a drive to just keep getting better and keep singing no matter, despite the fact that I never sang in public again. Some people find something to hate about themselves and when they look at someone else's gift and talent, they hate the person because they feel as if they can never measure up to them or be like them, so they bring them down to their level. But you gotta hang in there no matter hard it is." Morrison responded.

This was something new for Brutus; he's not used to people who believe in him and accept him as he is and he blinked his eyes and asked, "You mean it?"

"I wouldn't have said it if I didn't believe." Morrison added.

"I can see it'll take some time getting used to, but we accept you for you and not what anyone think you should be." Ash added.

That was enough to make Brutus smile and get almost teary-eyed because he was overwhelmed with a sudden happiness and a sense of belonging like he's meant to be here and he said, "I never thought that anyone here would take a chance on someone like me and that care about me. I've never have anything like that before."

"Well...now you do. You're one of us now." Johnny said, smiling.

"Thanks, guys." Brutus said, almost crying.

"These guys are the real deal. They took me in even after I had participated in something I wished I knew I shouldn't have done and they really do care about what's best for me. I never even knew what true friendship was until now. The same way they accept me, they can accept you too." Joshua added.

"I can see that now." Brutus added.

"Johnny, you're up next!" Ms. Crawly exclaimed.

Johnny then heads to the stage as he begins practicing his performance for the fundraiser coming up and as soon as he got on the piano to play a rendition of an old 90's pop song, Johnny took it into a modernized soulful vibe with his vocals on an amazing classic and Morrison bobbed his head to the rhythm and took one glace at Meena as she was getting into it as well and he just couldn't keep his eyes off of her and Meena was staring right back at Morrison as well and the feeling became very mutual between the two of them.

They looked at each other while they're smiling and somehow...Ash seemed to secretly wonder that there really is something between the two of them, but she could tell that there's sparks flying between them and just didn't say anything and let them have their moment almost as if they're a couple already.

'I wonder when they're gonna kiss soon...' Ash thought.

* * *

Just when will the two kiss? You'll have to wait later in the story! Also, that was 'Rainbow Connection' from Gwen Stefani!


	48. Down to the Wire

The final rehearsal moments are closing in...

* * *

Chapter 48: Down to the Wire

After two and a half weeks of nonstop rehearsals and elaborate planning, the fundraiser is about to be set in motion as many people across the town and communities rally around the Moon Theater to put this whole shebang together to make it meaningful and to spread awareness to all parents who don't want their kids to go through the same nightmare as those families have been that were affected by this horrendous heinous act that was planted by Trevor and his crew. It was down to final hours until the actual event is set to take place there. Both Brock and Dominick were promoting the crap out of this event on the Moon Theater's social media platforms with many pictures, videos of rehearsals and preparations whether in slo-mo or time lapsed and also filming Buster Moon promoting this amazing event to encourage the public to show up and show their support.

Alongside it, Dominick also had a strategy to do some fashion labeling as he partnered up with the victim's family to make a collage of the victim's faces all in one with a hashtag called '#RememberOurDaughters' and that completely spelled solidarity and solace to spread the message a lot further from there. The aim for this type of shirt is for those affected as well as people taking participation for it as well, whomever comes over to this fundraiser to show their support. Because of Dominick's marketing strategies and helping hands, he's convinced that it will be a big hit for the event.

Meanwhile, at the Moon Theater...

Everyone in the stage is going to their final rehearsals before the showcase the next day and those moments are crucial because there will be no setbacks, no mistakes and definitely no turning back. Meena started practicing a song she chose that she can hold her own and that it's a direct aim at Trevor after all he put her through and to show him that she's still standing and is still strong after this horrible ordeal she had went through. She literally gave it her all and Morrison couldn't help but be captivated by her rehearsal performance and he could see the contrast from shy girl with stage fright to conquering performer with a fearless voice to match.

That experience both of them had in terms of dealing with Trevor made them grow closer and made them stronger in the end and as soon as she lets out this belting vocal, it definitely confirms that inner strength had began to surface and made her way out of there and Morrison lets out a very deep exhale of amazement and couldn't wait to see what it sounds like on the actual show. Her vocals though caught Buster's attention in an instant and all he could do is just sit there, gaping in amazement of what he just heard and said, "Wow...that's just amazing!"

Meena lets out a giggle and replied, "Thank you, Mr. Moon."

"No, Meena...thank you." Buster answered.

Morrison just quietly gazed at her from afar, still breathless from listening to Meena's performance during the last moments of rehearsal and he could definitely tell that she's got some confidence in her that had never exitsed before. He silently slipped out of sight for a bit and just walked backstage in admiration of her and just stood to the wall, pondering how would he follow up on his rehearsal for his song selection.

So, he heads to the stage with guitar in hand and starts his rehearsal by singing his song selection in front of Buster and Miss Crawly as Morrison starts off strumming his guitar in a-cappella in a much gentle way and just began singing, hopefully...trying his best not to break down crying because this one song prompts him to do so, but he's determined not to let that affect his performance. Everyone listening from the side of the stage is immediately drawn into the performance and Morrison brought in a vigorous sweetness to go along with the emotional core of the song.

But it was when Eddie added some strings and violins towards the speakers that added some depth into it that really made Morrison maintain his composure as he's performing. Joshua, Meena, Johnny, Brutus, Rosita, Gunter, Ash and even Mike were blown away by Morrison's vocals and it almost brought Mike to tears, just a tad. Suddenly, the emotions started pouring in towards the tail end of the performance and Morrison finished it off with a vulnerable spot on his voice and he made the final strum as he completed the performance.

Buster just looked at Morrison without another word, but he definitely had that look of captivation and amazement to the point where no words could even come out of his mouth or in his mind. Morrison blinked his eyes and asked, "Mr. Moon?"

Buster just stood up, walked towards the stage and stood in front of Morrison with just an overwhelming emotion as he closed his eyes and just placed his fingers on his eyes and said, "I just don't know what to say at this point."

"I can do it again. I just gotta try my best to be less emotional when I do the song." Morrison stated, assuming that his vulnerable spot might've affected his performance.

"No, no, no, no...it's not that. How you managed to do that and bring it in the end...it's just..." Buster said, breathlessly.

Morrison wasn't sure what the response from Buster would be and he noticed Buster's eyes getting misty-eyed almost as if he just got emotional and the last thing that Buster had whispered to Morrison, "...it's perfect."

Morrison felt like he was numb after hearing what Buster just said and didn't expect that to happen, but he was completely amazed by this and Buster went on to say, "When you perform at the fundraiser, everyone's gonna be blown away."

Morrison just stood there letting all of it sink in and then it hit him...Buster was awestruck by it to the point where he was literally speechless and the only thing that Morrison could say was, "Thanks."

"Keep it up." Buster added.

Morrison stood up and headed backstage and he was greeted by the others who were as awestruck as Buster was, especially Meena and Johnny who were really blown away by that rendition and Johnny was the first one to say, "That was just the most awe-inspiring performance I've ever heard in my life."

"You thought it was that good?" asked Morrison, a little surprised.

"Yeah! It was brilliant!" Johnny exclaimed.

"I always knew you had that gift. Just show it more often." Meena said, in a lighter tone.

From a distance, Buster called Joshua's name to hit the stage and without any hesitation, Joshua walked to the stage to perform his song selection of choice and he just took a deep breath as he stood in front of the mic and began singing a mournful piano ballad that's been his personal heartbreak moment and as he's singing to it, many emotions began surfacing with memories of unpleasant experiences from his life and personal hardships that he's had to deal with and throughout parts of the song, he's been trying to hold back tears, but it's proven to be a challenge as well as he tears up more.

Morrison could tell that Joshua's got a powerful vocal, but the last thing he would want for his fundraising performance to turn it into a gloomy concert and wants to bring a positive pep to it. Luckily, Buster has also selected some upbeat songs of their choosing to perform along with the main choices.

20 minutes later

Everyone gathered around the stage as Buster comes in and said, "That was an excellent final rehearsal, everyone! I am looking forward to the actual fundraiser coming up shortly, so just remember as you perform, just perform like never before for a good cause! I will see you all here on the fundraiser!"

Soon afterwards, everyone walked out of the stage, completely excited for what's to come soon and for Meena and Morrison, they were just happy to be around each other a little more. Suddenly, Johnny came to both of them and said, "You guys wanna hang out at my garage for a bit?"

"Sure, what's the occasion?" asked Meena.

* * *

Net up, we see Morrison, Meena and Ash hanging out at Johnny's house; the garage of course!


	49. Hanging with Johnny

The day before the fundraiser...we find Morrison and friends hanging out in Johnny's garage (home)!

* * *

Chapter 49: Hanging with Johnny

At the garage

Johnny opened the door to the garage as he entered in and then opened the huge metal gate there where Ash, Meena, Morrison, Joshua, Brutus, Dominick, Rodrick and Brock stood there waiting and they all came into the garage and just took a look around and Meena asked, "This is where you live?"

"I always thought you'd live in an apartment." Ash commented.

"Well, it was actually my granddad's garage shop that has been home for many generations. My dad took it over after he died years later though. Seems as though it's used more for exercising than fixing cars and trucks, although he is good at fixing our old truck." Johnny answered.

Rodrick scourged around every nook and cranny possible and he could tell that it's like a normal garage with the toolboxes, oil and gas cans and various other garage and car repair equipment and machines around and it's like he could actually see himself working there someday or any other repair shop. Johnny then said, "Just make yourselves at home."

Several minutes later, everyone sat down on the floor as they were having some pizza around and everyone was just talking about how the fundraiser's gonna be and how excited and/or nervous about their performances or how it'll go down, but in a way...that event Meena went through with Trevor seemed to bring everyone together throughout and that seemed to raise a little bit of curiosity with Brutus, Dominick and Brock about the whole thing. Dominick asked, "So...if I may ask, who is this Trevor?"

"Trevor was the dude that Meena had a crush on in high school and she thought that he would be her knight in shining armor, but it turns out that even with a pretty face, nothing isn't as what it seems below the surface until it comes up little by little. He demeaned her, called her out on her size, looks and was very possessive of her, almost as if she's his property." Morrison answered.

Dominick was completely shocked to hear this while Brock and Brutus were disgusted to know this and Ash said, "This guy was a scumbag to Meena."

"If there's a word lower than scumbag, I would use it to describe Trevor in a heartbeat." Rodrick agreed.

Brock looked at Meena as he's munching on his pizza and asked, "Did you break up with him?"

"He actually kissed another girl in front of me after Morrison's last track game, but come to find out that it was just a ruse for me to get back with him on purpose so he would continue taking control of me. I turned him down after that and that made him really mad to the point where he and some of his friends tried to cause so much harm towards me just because I didn't want anything else to do with him." Meena explained.

Brutus felt deep sympathy for Meena as he couldn't believe that someone that callous and mean-spirited would cause harm to a nice, sweet, humble person and he asked, "Why didn't he just move on to find other girls?"

"That would be the best question I have always asked myself, but the answer wasn't what I was quite expecting. Turns out, he and his group were responsible for those other girls' disappearances. He called it his 'consequences' for not giving in to his advances and once I heard those details, I had no idea that he was actually capable of doing something like that. And that's when Trevor actually tried to kill me." Meena responded, trying to tell her story in the most bravest way possible, in spite of still being shaken up about it.

Joshua didn't blame her for feeling that way and looking back on it, the one good thing that came out of this was that he refused to go through with it and helped Meena out of Trevor's blinding rage and come out alive. Brock then asked, "What happened to this Trevor?"

"He's serving some life sentences right now. Some of his lawyers say they'll get a chance to appeal his conviction soon, but that's proven to be unlikely." Morrison stated.

"And those other girls?" asked Brutus.

"Most of them were shot, buried, mutilated, burned, cut into pieces and hanged by Trevor and his group." Rodrick answered.

Dominick groaned in disgust and disbelief and said, "All that because Trevor couldn't handle rejection? So dumb."

"I know, right? And anyway, just because he's got a rich family and all doesn't make him any better than us." Ash chimed in.

Morrison ate his pizza and said, "Money can't but you happiness, but in this case, it can buy you a one-way ticket of crazy avenue."

Soon afterwards, they switched the topic from Trevor back to the fundraiser and everyone's just talking about how exciting it will be, especially with Dominick and Brock being the new social media representatives for the Moon Theater. Morrison became a little bit excited about it and he said, "This is probably gonna be one of the greatest things to even happen in the Moon Theater."

"I concur." Ash agreed.

"Just people coming in from all over the town to watch us sing our hearts out for a good cause. I hope I don't get stage fright again." Meena said.

Morrison chuckled as he looked at Meena in the eye and said, "You're gonna do great, like you always do. Trust me on this."

Johnny agreed as he nodded his head and said, "Anyone would be gobsmacked crazy not to hear you sing."

"Hey, Johnny...how did you end up being in the Moon Theater?" asked Joshua.

"Well...there was an audition flying around for a singing competition where it originally was gonna have a cash reward of $100,000 for the winner, but as time progressed forwards, it became so much more than that. It was a opportunity to really go forward with what I was destined to do. I can't imagine every part of my life without singing and now that I've gotten that opportunity, I can live out my childhood dream." Johnny answered.

"Same as me, only it was just me and my ex-boyfriend Lance. He always said I was holding him back because I wanted to be front and center, but he was actually holding me back from him being the center. When I caught him singing with that Becky, that was a crushing blow to the head and to the heart, but in those circumstances, it was actually a wake-up call to show that I can stand on my own two feet and just rock out on my own." Ash elaborated.

"It took me a little while to get used to it. I love singing more than anything, but at the time I had a severe case of stage fright. Me and a stage in front of millions of people, I get so scared that I couldn't go through it. Even if it's just a small audience, it still gets me. But Mr. Moon had encouraged me to just not let fear to stop me from doing what I love. I just took that advice and ran with it and because of him, I can push past that fear and just let go." Meena stated.

Morrison agreed with that and he said, "She's an awesome singer. I was actually watching it on my phone while my family and I were on vacation and even when I was away, I knew that she would bring down the house. Not literally, though."

Then it hit Brutus, Brock and Dominick...they did remember one of the singers at the Moon Theater making local headlines for her vocals bringing down the stage and they looked at Meena and in unison, they asked, "That was you?!"

"Yeah, it was me." Meena said, with a shy chuckle.

"You're so amazing! I mean...I..." Brutus exclaimed, to the point of being speechless.

Rodrick chuckled at this and he turned to Johnny and said, "I'm really stoked up about the fundraiser."

"Yeah, me too. It's a great way to sorta re-charge and just take it slow before the event." Johnny said, eating more pizza.

Ash, Meena, Morrison, Dominick, Brock, Brutus and Joshua agreed with that after the mounds of rehearsal and getting this fundraiser off the ground, they need a little break from it all and hanging at Johnny's place is the best way to do so and Ash said, "I wish we could do this almost every day."

"How about tomorrow?" asked Johnny.

"After school sounds great." Meena said, happily.

"Cool with me." Ash added.

"Sure." Joshua said.

"Okay, cool." Brutus replied.

"Yeah, why not? I can settle in doing some of my homework between classes." Morrison stated, chuckling.

* * *

Next chapter...the start of the fundraiser!


	50. The Fundraiser Begins!

The moment of truth has come...the fundraiser concert!

* * *

Chapter 50: The Fundraiser Night

The entire exterior of the Moon Theater has illuminated in lights with the pink and blue squids flashing lights all around the centerpiece and on the top of the marquee reads 'Victim's Awareness Fundraiser Concert' where any and everyone in town can donate money to help the families of the victims that had lost their daughters because of Trevor's violent tendencies towards them and everyone in the community immediately showed their support and contribution to the matter and the lines were packed to full-on capacity and even the local news crew broadcasted it live for everyone to see on TV, their phones, computers, social media or any other devices to use.

Some of the family members of the victims walked by and they were completely blown away by the number of people that actually attended and many of Morrison's friends came over in line to give out support, but no one's more excited than Mickey who never really heard Morrison sing before, nor many of his skating friends except for a few friends at his school. Mickey wagged his tail very quickly as he stood in line and Bryce looked at Mickey and said, "Chillax, man. You're wagging your tail like crazy."

"Dude, I can't wait to see my skating buddy rock the house!" Mickey exclaimed.

"Well, you wagging your tail like that will bring the house down, but not in the good way." Bryce added.

As all the hubbub occurred outside, inside the theater, everyone is just getting themselves ready and prepped up for the whole performance and they knew that this is gonna be the most amazing event they've ever done and for Morrison, he knew that this will be a huge moment because it'll be the first time in a long while that he's ever sang in front of people in a large crowd up until this point. To help clear his thoughts and just ease the nerves, he takes a minute, sits down on the ground near his rehearsal room with his legs crossed, closing his eyes, taking a couple of deep breaths and just meditate.

Meditation is considered his ritual in case of a big event that he has to take hold, like performing, taking a test or even getting ready for a sporting event. Whatever the occasion, he has to be in the zone and get through it without any sense of anxiety or nervousness that might hinder his performance. He did it for a good 6-8 minutes before finally getting himself together with a little bit of confidence and he's mentally prepared to take the stage.

He was unaware that Johnny, Mike and Rosita were standing there behind him and a very confused Mike asked, "Were you asleep before a show?"

"No, I was just meditating. You just gotta be zen in order to avoid any types of anxiety you may have. It's the best way to get over any nerves before hitting the stage. Without it, you might fall apart." Morrison replied.

That surprised Rosita the most as she never imagined herself doing that before a show and she said, "I think I ought to try that one day, maybe when it comes to dealing with my kids."

"Yep. It's my ritual. Do you guys have any rituals before you go onstage?" asked Morrison.

"Not that I can think of." Rosita responded.

"I might have. I just let go whenever I'm on stage." Johnny replied.

"Why do I need a ritual? I already know I'm gonna knock it out of the park when I perform onstage." Mike explains, with a confident smirk on his face, straightening his bow tie.

Morrison didn't know how to respond to that, but decided to keep it to himself because he's got a lot on his mind right now, like getting back to the swing of things in performing his song and hopes he doesn't break down emotionally while singing. Afterwards, he got himself up, stretched his entire body to keep himself limber and shook out the nerves so he can have a great performance. Meena silently walks up behind Morrison and she said, "Hi, Mo."

Morrison turns around and sees Meena wearing her very amazing purple and golden dress and Morrison felt as if he's looking directly at an angel towering over him and a flash of beauty has captured a direct glance and he said, "Wow...you look so beautiful."

"You think so?" asked Meena, still a little shy.

"I know so." Morrison replied.

Meena only responded with a slight giggle and said, "Thank you, Morris."

Both of them just couldn't help but look at each other as their obvious feelings for each other is in full display without going too further and Morrison placed his paw on the back of his head and said, "You're gonna do great tonight."

"So will you. All for a good cause." Meena added.

Meanwhile, in the front of the Moon Theater, Buster Moon has been interviewed for the local news about this fundraiser and is putting in glowing optimistic remarks as he said, "It's gonna be one of the best shows anyone's ever seen all for a great cause for the victim and their families who lost their loved ones and we appreciate all donations given to everyone in this town, so if you want to help out, please give out whatever you got, regardless of it being a big or small amount. And please do come by for some crowd-stopping performances to our Moon Theater acts!"

Many of the family members of the victims assisted by helping them get settled in by scanning the tickets, selling some clothes and rubber bracelets to support the cause they're fighting for and to represent the loved ones they lost along the way. Waiting around to get their seats were Morrison's family, plus Meena's mom and grandparents standing there too and Meena's grandfather was not so keen on waiting and said, "What's taking this line so long? I wanna hear my grandbaby sing!"

"Dad...we talked about this. All good things come to those who wait." Meena's mom stated, trying to calm her dad down.

"Yeah, well I want to see Meena bring down the house again!" Meena's grandfather added.

As everyone backstage gathers around, there's a huge array of emotions between eeveryone; exhilaration, confidence, anxious, relaxed and excitement to get on that stage and give it their all and Johnny takes a tiny glance at who's at the audience and they're all piled in by the hundreds and whispered, "There's a lot of people out there."

"Like how many?" asked Ash.

"I don't know, but it's a packed house, the theater." Johnny replied.

"Wow...that's a whole lot." Meena added.

"Don't be so worried face! You'll bring it out of the ball park, no?" Gunter asked, with a chuckle.

"You all will."

Everyone turns around to see Buster Moon come in and with a very optimistic look on his face, he said to the others, "Just remember this is what we've rehearsed for. And don't forget...it is for a good cause and just have the time of your life!"

"Yes, Mr. Moon!" they all exclaimed.

"Now...let's do this show." Buster said, happily with confidence.

* * *

Next up, the show begins!


	51. The Opening Number

And the kick-off of the fundraiser begins!

* * *

Chapter 51: The Opening Number

As the entire audience settles into their seats, they were completely looking forward of what's to come for the evening and hope that they'll leave with an exhilirating feeling and not long afterwards, the lights started dimming slowly as the show begins with Eddie playing some background music all over and soon, in comes Buster Moon rising from the middle of the stage in a stage elevator, causing the entire crowd to cheer in eruption with mic in hand and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, we are welcoming you tonight to our first ever fundraiser here at the Moon Theater to raise money for the families of the victims that have lost their loved ones, the ones closest and dearest to them to a senseless act of tragic violence. We've got a heck of a show tonight from everyone here at the theater and some new additions as well! I hope you're all ready to make a difference tonight and for everyone watching at home, please donate whatever you have to the fundraiser. We'd really appreciate it!"

As Buster began his monologue, Johnny was more than ready to take the stage, cracking his knuckles and ready to let his fingers do the playing as took a few deep breaths to bring in his first song of the fundraiser and said to himself, "All right, Johnny...just be ready for your moment."

"...for our first act of the night, taking on a whole new meaning of showing solidarity! Please welcome to the stage...Johnny!" Buster exclaimed.

As soon as Johnny's name was called, he went to the stage with Eddie bringing out the piano to the center of the stage and afterwards, Johnny sat down on the stool as Eddie ran back to the other side of the stage to prep up the sounds for additional music to play as the rest of the acts began their song selections. Johnny then strikes one piano key deeper and then begins playing his selection with a soft piano intro as he began singing.

 _Just stop your crying, it'll be all right_

 _Just take my hand, hold it tight_

 _I will protect you from all around you_

 _I will be here, don't you cry_

 _For one so small, you seem so strong_

 _My arms will hold you, keep you safe and warm_

 _This bond between us can't be broken_

 _I will be here, don't you cry_

 _Cause you'll be in my heart_

 _Yes, you'll be in my heart_

 _From this day on, now and forevermore_

 _You'll be in my heart_

 _No matter what they say_

 _Cause you'll be in my heart_

 _Always..._

After striking a few soft piano keys, it then elevates itself into an up-tempo piano ballad as Eddie pulls in some strings and drum beats while Johnny's playing the piano more as the entire audience is getting into it and keeps going.

 _Why can't they understand how we feel_

 _they just can't trust what they can't explain_

 _I know we're different, but deep inside us_

 _We're not that different at all_

 _So...you'll be in my heart_

 _Yes, you'll be in my heart_

 _From this day on, now and forevermore_

 _You'll be in my heart_

 _No matter what they say_

 _You will be here in my heart_

 _Always..._

 _You'll be in my heart_

 _Yes, you'll be in my heart_

 _From this day on, now and forevermore..._

 _You'll be in my heart_

 _No matter what they say_

 _You will be here in my heart_

 _Always..._

Every single one of the audience definitely felt the emotions that came out of this song as the projector shows a collage of pictures of the young girls that were attacked and killed in a brutal way, including their families that were affected by this tragedy, but they felt a sense of unity when they stood together as Johnny kept singing the final parts of the song.

 _Just look over your shoulder_

 _Just look over your shoulder_

 _Just look over your shoulder_

He then slows down on the piano and ends it on a tender crescendo, leaving one piano key tone sustained and the blue spotlight silently dimmed, leaving a somber silhouette of Johnny on the center and everyone in the audience just stood up cheering and applauding as the lights were brought back on as he stood up. Buster comes back in and exclaims, "Johnny, ladies and gentlemen!"

Johnny took several bows as he walked backstage and Rosita was the first one to say, "That was amazing, Johnny!"

"Ja, that was like totally wunderbar!" Gunter agreed, laughing.

Johnny chuckles softly and said, "Thanks, Rosita. Thanks, Gunter."

"Bro, you slayed it! More than slayed it, you demolished it! In a good way, of course." Morrison exclaimed.

Johnny chuckled and answered, "Thanks, Morrison. That song is very important to me."

"For real?" asked Ash.

"Very much so." Johnny answered.

"Next up on the stage, he's one of the new acts in our theater. One little fact is that no one has ever heard him sing before, except when there's no one around. Well tonight, all of that's gonna change! Please give a warm round of applause for...Brutus!" Buster exclaimed.

The minute Brutus heard his name call out, he could tell that this was it. Definitely no turning back. He took a deep breath and with a little persuasion and encouragement from everyone, he mustered up the courage to just walk to the stage and perform his heart out. Eddie began playing the instrumental version of Brutus' song selection that he rehearsed and he just lets it all go as he sings.

Everyone in the audience became captivated by his voice and even Mike couldn't believe what he was hearing...like nothing he's ever heard before. The fact that this came out of a young kid surprised him even more and all he could do is just listen to the whole thing and be totally immersed with the performance. Several verses in and after laying his heart on his sleeve with his vocals, he just blew everyone away with his song and ending it with a vocalizing part, which became the cherry on top.

The audience adored every bit of it and just couldn't believe that all of this came out of one shy albino tiger and for a while, Brutus felt like he was comfortable in his element and just bowed to everyone who was watching and Buster came out and said, "I think we're on the cusp of a beautiful talent...and he's 16!"

"16?!" Mike exclaimed.

"We're both the same age." Morrison stated.

"Impressive, I'll give him that." Mike responded.

* * *

Awesome performance from Johnny! BTW, this is You'll Be in My Heart from Phil Collins Stay tuned for more!


	52. Performances Galore

And the performances keep on going...

* * *

Chapter 52: Performances Galore

Soon after Brutus' performance, most of the other acts began showing off their stuff in their performances to electrify audiences all across the town; for Gunter and Rosita's performance, they did some singing and dancing to a dance-pop 80's song where both pigs showed off their stuff as Gunter showed off his flamboyant dance moves as always and Rosita lets it all go onstage as she danced her heart out and sung like never before and Gunter did the same as well whenever the two would perform as Gunter makes some cool moves, then points to Rosita as the cue to sing and they feed off each other very well.

Many of the audience members got into the performance as well, including Morrison and Ms. Crawly as they were dancing to it as well, just having fun and then he goes over to Meena and they dance as well and it was like their chemistry just exploded into performance art and as they looked at each other, they realized what the heck just happened and slowly pulled themselves away from each other, hoping not to get any glares from everyone else.

After Gunter and Rosita's performances, it continued on with Mike commanding the stage to take on a classic love song from the 60's, which blew the audience away, Tiger Fury's take on a fun pop song from the 90's, Ash's original song she had written that rocked the crowd about life without Lance, the Newfound Rebels' pop take on a metal song, Jimmy and the Moonlight Crew's a-capella version of a popular 80's song and Breakout Mafia's take on a 70's folk song with an EDM twist that got the crowd pumped up.

Soon afterwards, Stars Volcano began doing a version of popular break-up song with a slow acoustic version of it that starts with a very gentle strum as one of them started singing the first verse.

 _You got me sipping on something_

 _I can't compare to nothing_

 _Not ever long, I'm hoping_

 _that after this feeling, I'll survive_

 _I know I'm acting a bit crazy_

 _Messed up, a little bit hazy_

 _Hand over heart, I'm hoping_

 _that I'm gonna make it out alive_

 _My heart's getting cold when you're not here_

 _The future that we hold is so unclear_

 _But I'm not alive until you call_

 _And I'll bet the odds against it all_

 _Save your advice, cuz I won't hear_

 _You might be right, but I don't care_

 _There's a million reasons why I should give you up_

 _But the heart wants what it wants_

 _The heart wants what it wants_

 _You got me spinning in pieces_

 _Shining like stars and screaming_

 _Lining the earth like Venus_

 _But then you disappear and make me wait_

 _And every second's like torture_

 _Heartsick drip, no morsel_

 _Finding a way to let go_

 _Baby, baby, no, I can't escape_

 _My heart's getting cold when you're not here_

 _The future that we hold is so unclear_

 _But I'm not alive until you call_

 _And I'll bet the odds against it all_

 _Save your advice, cuz I won't hear_

 _You might be right, but I don't care_

 _There's a million reasons why I should give you up_

 _But the heart wants what it wants_

 _The heart wants what it wants_

 _The heart wants what it wants_

 _The heart wants what it wants_

The group completely blended in their harmonies very well and their amazing vocals along with the guitar bits and the swelling of strings in the background, but no drum beats made it extra emotional and special to reach down the pits of the audience's souls as well as the acts that are watching on the other side of the stage where most of them were blown away and some almost on the verge of tears.

 _This is a modern fairy-tale_

 _No happy endings, no wind in our sails_

 _But I can't imagine a life without_

 _breathless moments_

 _Breaking me down, down, down, down, down..._

 _My heart's getting cold when you're not here_

 _The future that we hold is so unclear_

 _But I'm not alive until you call_

 _And I'll bet the odds against it all_

 _Save your advice, cuz I won't hear_

 _You might be right, but I don't care_

 _There's a million reasons why I should give you up_

 _But the heart wants what it wants_

 _The heart wants what it wants_

 _The heart wants what it wants_

 _The heart wants what it wants_

 _The heart wants what it wants, baby_

 _It wants what it wants, baby_

 _It wants what it wants_

 _It wants what it wants_

 _The heart wants what it wants, baby_

 _It wants what it wants, baby_

 _It wants what it wants_

 _The heart wants what it wants_

It ended with a final strum and a sustained string ending chord with the spotlight slowly dimming as the audience cheered and applauded while they were completely emotional and just tugged their heartstrings to the maximum and even stood up from their seats because the performance was so good and Stars Volcano just took a bow and thanked the audience as Buster comes out and said, "How about that? Thank you, Stars Volcano for that wonderful performance!"

The group just thanked the audience once again and they walked out of the stage with so much exhiliaration and received a huge amount of support and applause from the other acts and Rosita said, "That was just fabulous! You nguys did excellent!"

"Thanks, Rosita." one member of Stars Volcano replied.

"Yeah, you almost brought Gunter to tears." Ash pointed out.

Gunter wiped his eyes quickly and said, "You did wunderbar!"

Later on, one more band, the Rebel-Nation Army rocked out the crowd with an original song they had written themselves and brought in a personalized pop punk sound which brought the crowd to their feet. Soon, most of the soloists performed their hearts out on stage, leaving their hearts on their sleeve. Victoria performed a classic soulful 90's song that she serves as her personal theme song of her life, Braxton performed an original soul/rock song as he's playing an electric guitar that brought the crowd to their feet, Emily brought in her power vocals to a recent pop song that fits her well and just sung her heart out and Tanner electrified the crowd on a power ballad song that showcases his range of vocals that literally blew the crowd away.

Joshua is up next and he's feeling the huge pressure of performing in front of many people and he could feel it way down inside him and Meena sensed that feeling a mile away and she placed a hand over his shoulder for comfort and support and looked at him with a look that reads 'you got this'. Morrison nods his head to confirm that agreement and most of the other acts lifted him up with words of kindness and Buster even told him, "Just sing your heart out."

"Sing like it's your last day on earth." Johnny stated.

"We're all here for you." Emily agreed.

"Of course, kid...even if there's a possible chance that the audience might boo you off the stage." Mike added, trying to be positive while being somewhat realisitic.

Rosita gave Mike a very serious glare for a second as a means to watch what he's saying and then turns to Joshua and said, "What Mike isn't really trying to say is...give it your all and don't think about anything else. You are very talented and we all believe in you. Just believe in yourself."

What Rosita just said to Joshua definitely sparked a fire underneath him and he knew that he has to face his fears head-on and just get out there and conquer it as soon as Buster went on the stage to introduce the next act, which of course...is Joshua. As soon as Joshua's name is called, he received a mic and just went out on stage as everyone applauded and cheered for him.

Mike looked very puzzled after hearing what Rosita had said to him and said, "Isn't that what I told him?"

"No, Mike. That's the thing with teenagers and adults; it's their job to ignore you. Plus, that wasn't even good advice. It was just adding to anxiety." Rosita answered.

Mike folded his arms and asked, with a very sneer look on his face, "And your point is, Porky?"

Rosita face-palmed in response and just shook her head in disbelief that Mike is just very callous and said, "Sometimes you can be very impossible...unlike my husband."

* * *

Next up...we see Morrison's comeback performance! The song was 'The Heart Wants What It Wants' from Selena Gomez, btw! Don't own it!


	53. Joshua's Moment in the Spotlight

And we see Joshua's finest moment on stage...

* * *

Chapter 53: Joshua's Moment in the Spotlight

Joshua walks to the front of the stage where thousands of people were clapping for him as well as watch him perform and he was wrought with anxiety because he's literally never performed in front of people before and after the applause fades, Joshua blinked his eyes and he exhaled sharply as he began singing in acapella as they hear the vulnerable quality of his voice, starting off soft and gentle.

 _Hello, it's me_

 _I was wondering if after all these years_

 _you'd like to meet_

 _to go over everything_

 _They say that time's supposed to heal ya_

 _But I ain't done much healing_

 _Hello, can you hear me?_

 _I've been California dreaming about who we used to be_

 _when we were younger and free_

 _I'd forgotten how it felt_

 _before the world fell at our feet_

 _There's such a difference between us_

 _and a million miles_

Then, his voice went from vulnerable and breathy and elevated it into something stronger as soon as he hits the chorus as his voice started captivating everyone in the audience, as well as backstage where the other acts were already amazed by his voice, including Mike, who became very shocked that he actually sings great.

 _Hello from the other side..._

 _I must've called a thousand times_

 _to tell you I'm sorry_

 _for everything that I've done_

 _but when I call_

 _you never seem to be home_

 _Hello from the outside..._

 _At least I can say that I've tried_

 _to tell you I'm sorry_

 _for breaking your heart_

 _But it don't matter_

 _it clearly doesn't tear you apart anymore_

After going acapella, Eddie played the music in the background as soon as he sang the chorus in a stronger, yet passionate voice that almost brought the audience to tears because they felt as if they were listening to a story they could connect to and Joshua felt as if he's giving his own personal story to everyone and everyone took notice as he continues singing.

 _Hello, how are you?_

 _It's so typical of me_

 _to talk about myself_

 _I'm sorry_

 _I hope that you're well_

 _Did you ever make it out of that town_

 _where nothing ever happened?_

 _It's no secret_

 _that the both of us_

 _are running out of time_

 _So hello from the other side..._

 _I must've called a thousand times_

 _to tell you I'm sorry_

 _for everything that I've done_

 _But when I call_

 _you never seem to be home_

 _Hello from the outside_

 _At least I can say that I've tried_

 _to tell you I'm sorry_

 _for breaking your heart_

 _But it don't matter_

 _it clearly doesn't tear you apart anymore_

 _Ooooh...anymore_

 _Ooooo-oooo-oooh...anymore_

 _Ooooh...anymore_

 _Anymore..._

The audience responded by raising up their glow sticks in the air and waved them side to side as a sign of solidarity and everyone feeling the similar emotion the way that Joshua brought into the song and everyone started singing along to the song as if it was his own and just aced it in the biggest way possible.

 _Hello from the other side..._

 _I must've called a thousand times_

 _to tell you I'm sorry_

 _for everything that I've done_

 _But when I call_

 _you never seem to be home_

 _Hello from the outside_

 _At least I can say that I've tried_

 _to tell you I'm sorry_

 _for breaking your heart_

 _But it don't matter_

 _it clearly doesn't tear you apart anymore..._

He had sustained that note for 10 seconds until he got down on his knees with mic still on hand and letting out a deep exhale as soon as the music stops and not logn afterwards, the crowd just erupted into a roar of cheers and applause, so much so that everyone was in standing ovation mode, loving every single second of it. As soon as Joshua rose his head up and saw the applause, he became completely overwhelmed with the immediate acceptance and never expected everyone to feel the same way he did.

Buster then comes into the stage, both surprised and emotional as well and said to everyone, "This kid definitely wore his heart on his sleeve! Show your love for Joshua, folks!"

Everyone kept applauding for him and Joshua blinked his eyes and he just felt a little bit amazed by this reception as he took a bow and just left the stage, where he was greeted by the other acts just clapping for him and just embracing Joshua as they commended his performance. Rosita was completely blown away by his vocals and she said, "You did great, Joshua! I didn't know that that was in you!"

"You've been in the Moon Theater for 3 weeks and you're becoming a pro!" Morrison exclaimed.

Joshua exhaled deeply at this and said, "Could you tell how scared I was out there?"

Emily couldn't even believe what she's hearing and said, "Scared? What I saw out there was a young man just giving us your entire heart and soul to the entire crowd."

"I saw no fear in you at all." Ash agreed.

Joshua sighed heavily at this as he sat down and said, "That was a very personal song for me and I loved it so much that it really resembles my life. I never thought anyone would feel the same way."

Just then, Buster calls out Morrison's name and he brought in his guitar and took a deep breath as he was about to set the stage and Meena looks at him with a reassuring smile to let him know that he's gonna do great and Morrison smiled back at him as he went out there, but before he could perform, he saw some of the victim's families on the stage as well to talk about their family members that they lost due to violence and Morrison sat down on a stool with guitar in hand as he waited for his turn to perform and has to hear about the family members that they had lost.

* * *

Up next...Morrison's biggest comeback performance of his life! And that song was 'Hello' from Adele!


	54. Morrison's Comeback Performance

And now...we see Morrison perform for the first time in a long while since being ravaged by jealous students back 5 years ago and watch the full on emotions he's displaying as he gives his entire heart to everyone...

* * *

Chapter 54: Morrison's Comeback Performance

Some of the family members of the victims came up to the stage to tell the entire audience about their young daughters that were struck by Trevor and his rich goons and to spread awareness about what happens to any young girl who gets caught up in a risky situation with a guy who looks charming, but even charming guys can have a deadly side with dire intentions to trap them in a position where they will not get out of. Many of the crowd were applauding as soon as Buster introduced them and many of the family members are wearing T-shirts with a collage of the victim's faces to remember them.

"We would like to thank all of you for attending our amazing fundraiser tonight. The acts have been phenomenally wonderful and amazing. It literally lifted up our spirits in the deepest way possible. Before we bring out our next performer, we want to take some time for you all to learn about our daughters and how crucial it is to tell our story about how we lost our treasured jewels and to spread the awareness about what happens when someone who think they have good intentions but they really don't and they only want one thing that they desire to have; control, power and greed so that they can get what they came for." one parent stated.

Another parent of the victim went to the mic herself and said, "My name is Patricia and this is my husband James and this is a picture of our first born daughter, Chelsea. She was 15 years old and she has a very big heart; just giving, bubbly, trusting and friendly. Whenever you been her for the first or maybe 10,000th time, she'll treat you like a part of her family and she will always go out of her way to put others above herself. She had a bright future ahead of her to pursue theater and the arts. She was missing for 6 months and to hear the news that this monster killed her, it shook us to the core."

"My wife and I loved her with every fiber of our being, especially our 8 year son Grayson. Him and Chelsea were really close; anything she'd do for him, she'll do it with the best of her ability. That's how loyal she is towards others. I hope that every parent that's sitting in the audience or watching this on their TV, smartphone, their iPawds or any electronic device that has ever lost a child felt the same exact way we all feel." the father answered.

One-by-one, every parent of the victims had talked about their daughters that were victimized and brutally beaten to death by Trevor and his goons when each of them refused to give in to his advances and as a consequence for their good judgment, their lives were cut tragically short to a treacherous act of violence caused by an egotistical, sadistic, greedy rich kid whose only recourse is to make them suffer when he's denied his wants.

As the audience listens in both in theater as well as in TV or smartphones, there wasn't a dry eye anywhere in the crowd as most of them had the notion that most of the audience are parents in their own right and as soon as they showed the pictures of the daughters that were killed and tortured, most of the parents, whether married or single, had the same thought they had, 'That could've been my daughter' and most of the fathers were genuinely emotional and each of them looked at their own daughters and they knew that they're every father's treasure and if someone tries to mess with that treasure, they'll do anything in their power to shield it with their lives.

As a mother herself, Rosita couldn't help but relate to this story and connected with this emotionally and couldn't bear to think that something like that would happen to one of her kids as they get older and it really brought an eye-opener from a parents' perspective that those parents at the stage who were grieving over the tragic loss of those daughters that she commended their bravery to come out and make a difference in the world.

"As you leave this fundraiser tonight or finish watching it at home, I want you all to think about your daughters and realize how fortunate you are that they're still alive, that you can kiss them good night, hug them, protect them from danger and most importantly, say how much you love them. Just be grateful that they're still here with you because you never know what will happen one day. Tomorrow is never promised to you, in any way, shape or form. We all have to do our part to make sure this would never happen to any other girl or any child so that no parent would go through what we all went through." one parent concluded, emotionally on the last part.

"So, we'd like to thank you all for showing your love and support and again, our much appreciation to Mr. Moon for supporting this fundraiser and getting it off the ground. We'd like to leave you with one of the performers, Morrison. He'll be singing for you as we all show slideshows of our daughters so we can commemorate them." another parent said.

Everyone in the crowd began cheering and applauding as the parents left the stage and in comes a silhouette of Morrison, sitting on the stool, wearing dark jeans, a grey tank top, white and grey sneakers and a black baseball cap, backwards-style while holding onto his guitar. He takes a deep breath and just began strumming his guitar as it's playing a soft intro and although this is a part of honoring the victims, he was determined to go through it and just started singing this one song that is a personal plethora of what he had been through that fateful moment after the hardship he faced after the public reaction from students in his middle school heard about him sing in public.

He had just remembered everything that had happened there; the relentless bullying, being cyberbullied and cyberstalked, receiving mounds of death threats, had his family's tires slashed and enduring many ridicule from those that didn't know him and those that he used to hang out with that literally put him through a very difficult, dark period in his life. But he had been a survivor through it all and that song completely brought out a very painful, yet relatable trigger for him to perform in which he refers to as his 'personal journal' and as soon as he opens his mouth to start singing, he knew that there was no turning back and just releases his heart from his sleeve.

 _Well, you almost had me fooled_

 _Told me that the world would be better off without you_

 _Oh, and after everything you've done_

 _I can thank you for strong I have become_

 _Cause you brought the pain to make me hide in my shell_

 _I had to learn how to fight for myself_

 _And we both know the truth I could tell_

 _I'll just say this as I wish you farewell_

Little by little, all the painful memories started rising up inside him as he's trying to perform, but he knew that he has to keep going regardless and as soon as the strings started playing in the background and the projector lights up the screen behind him, showing clips and pics of the young girls that got killed by Trevor, he kept going forward with it.

 _I hope you're somewhere praying_

 _Praying_

 _I hope your soul is changing_

 _Changing_

 _I hope you find your peace_

 _Falling on your knees, praying_

He kept on strumming gently as the strings comes in the background speakers and the projector slowly fades and the colors surrounded Morrison shows the majority of his emotional complex through his performance, as he went from humble and quiet, to feelings of anger and frustration and it showcased through his voice that made it more stronger than ever. Morrison's family just couldn't help but be emotional about this, seeing him emotional as he's performing, but knew that he had the strength to go on anyway and couldn't be more proud of him. Plus, some of them pulled out their phones and just recorded the whole thing too.

 _I'm proud of who I am_

 _No more monsters, I can breathe again_

 _And you said that I was done_

 _Well, you were wrong and the best is yet to come_

 _Cause I can make it on my own_

 _And I don't need you, I found a strength I've never known_

 _I'll bring thunder, I'll bring rain_

 _When I'm finished, they won't even know your name_

He kept strumming his guitar and he's making it through the song okay, despite almost on the verge of breaking down in tears as he's singing and the emotional apex took all of the acts, plus Morrison's own family and friends by complete surprise as they never expected that side of him to come out in such a big deeper way and as he kept performing, he was almost in tears.

 _You brought me the pain to make me hide in a shell_

 _I had to learn how to fight for myself_

 _And we both know the truth I could tell_

 _I'll just say this as I wish you farewell_

 _I hope you're somewhere, praying_

 _Praying_

 _I hope your soul is changing_

 _Changing_

 _I hope you find your peace_

 _Falling on your knees, praying_

 _Oh sometimes, I pray for you at night_

 _Oh someday, maybe you'll see the light_

 _Oh some say, in life you gonna get what you give_

 _But some things, only God can forgive_

Then, all of a sudden, Morrison released his vocal prowess and an unexpected range; an upper whistle register coming out from his octaves and that made the crowd plus his family, friends and his Moon Theater crew drop their jaws in shock...especially Meena and she has never heard that come out of Morrison before and that made the crowd cheer like crazy as soon as he hit that big note while finishing off the song.

 _I hope you're somewhere, praying_

 _Praying_

 _I hope your soul is changing_

 _Changing_

He had held that 'changing' note sustained for 45 seconds, despite his voice almost giving out and took a deep pause for a second, but the emotional core hit the audience in a lot of levels, bringing the crowd, plus all the acts watching on the side of the stage in tears. Morrison lets out a painful sob as he mustered up enough strength to finish it out with a deeply pained yet shaken, but passionate final vocal to wrap up the performance.

 _I hope you find peace_

 _Falling on your knees, praying..._

He made the final strum and finished up the song as he lets out a deep exhale, which then lead to the crowd immediately roaring with cheers and applause as there wasn't a dry eye in the audience and when Morrison got up from the ground, he was able to see everyone just applauding for him, to the point of giving out a powerful standing ovation. Morrison blinked his eyes and wiped his eyes quickly as he just made it through performing in public for the first time. That fear has been officially conquered and he just took a bow and he even sees his little brother Tucker coming to the stage and gave him a big hug. Just from looking at Tucker's face, Morrison could tell that he's very proud of his big brother.

Tucker hopped onto Morrison's back and carried him on his shoulders and both brothers waved to the crowd and Buster comes out and said, "This kid is gonna have a future here! Give Morrison a big round of applause, folks!"

"And his awesome little brother!" Tucker exclaimed.

Morrison chuckled as he and Tucker walked off the stage and entered backstage where he was greeted by his theater friends who were watching from behind and Rosita said, "You did terrific! It almost got me to tears, Morrison."

"So did the rest of us." Joshua agreed.

"You literally made all of us cry, even Johnny. He was like breaking down with you." Ash added.

"I had...just something in my eye, that's all." Johnny said, tearfully.

Morrison blinked his eyes and knowing that he accomplished that task head-first and he hopes that this time, he will not stop performing in public and no one would make a big stink about it in the harshest way possible and Meena walks over to Morrison and she was just smiling at him and she said, "I always knew you could do it. But that high pitch...I had no idea you had that in you!"

"Yeah, neither did I! I never really noticed that I had that powerful voice...but I guess I had found it inside of me. And it's because of you. When I had very few friends, you were the only one to get me through that hard time when I was 11. So...I just wanted to say thank you for being my emotional rock." Morrison added.

"Anytime, Mo." Meena replied.

Morrison smiled at her and he was just beaming with joy that Meena became his only source of strength during that difficult time he had faced before and soon, Tucker blurted out, "When are you guys gonna kiss?"

Morrison then rolls his eyes and sighed amusedly and said, "Funny, Tuck."

Morrison then sets Tucker down and he said, "Guys, this is my little brother Tucker. Tucker, that's Rosita, Gunter, Ash, Mike, Johnny, Braxton, Joshua, Brutus, Tanner, Victoria and Emily. And that's Stars Volcano, The Rebel-Nation Army, Tiger Fury, Newfound Rebels, Jimmy and the Moonlight Crew and Breakout Mafia."

"Hi." Tucker responded.

"Hey." everyone said.

"What about Jumbo here? Did you forget to introduce the kid to her?" asked Mike.

"Meena and I already know each other. She would babysit me." Tucker replied.

Meena nodded her head in agreement as this is proven true and she said, "He's a sweet kid too. Even though he's a bit of a handful."

Tucker looks at Mike for a second and he said, "You kinda look like one of my teachers from school; Mr. Mincefine. Only he's kinda taller and big fat-headed."

Mike dropped his jaw in shock after Tucker compared him to one of his teachers and he spluttered, "Fat-headed?! That's...that's insulting!"

"I have to agree with Mike. It's offensive...to all fat-headed people everywhere." Ash pointed out.

Mike sneered at this and said to Tucker, "You're lucky that you're a kid. Really lucky, kid."

Tucker blinked his eyes at this and he turned to mostly everyone and asked, "Is he always this grouchy?"

"In a word, yes." Rosita answered.

Just then, Vincent comes backstage and he sees Tucker there and he said, "There you are. Mom and dad have been looking for you."

"Mo introduced me to some of the people and they all seem really, really nice; especially the gorilla." Tucker said, to Vincent.

Vincent looks up and sees all of them for the first time and some he's met before, including Johnny and he takes a slight chuckle and walks up to Johnny and said, "Dude...you slayed the stage tonight...and I'm very serious."

"I hope it's a good thing, yeah?" asked Johnny, a little apprehensive about the term.

"It's a good thing, believe you me." Vincent said, smiling.

As Tucker heads to Johnny's side, Vincent walks over to Morrison and with a hint of surprise and what little humility he has left, he said to Morrison, "Bro...you got your power back."

That was surprising to hear from Vincent for the first time that he's commending Morrison for something amazing and he was silent for a second as he's letting it all sink in for a while and after what he had just done, he realized that he was right. All those years of being slammed by one performance at 11 years old and now has the opportunity to regain his power back really solidified why he loved performing in the first place and Morrison lets out a soft chuckle and said, "I did, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did." Vincent replied.

"I guess I was thinking of them when I sang it and it shows that you have torn me down, but I'm still standing up like a stubborn building that refuses to cave in. I have just unleashed all of that anger, frustration, fury, hurt and everything that I had kept inside of me for 5 years and then it all ended up in forgiveness. Even when the ones that threatened my life and my talent, I can't hold a grudge against them forever. At some point, you just gotta be stronger than that." Morrison added.

"That's a perfect description." Rosita added.

"Hey, think you and Tucker can stick around backstage for a while?" asked Morrison.

That immediately lit up Tucker's eyes and got excited and asked, "Would we? Can we?"

Vincent chuckled softly and knew that there's a big vibe around the stage and he said, "Eh, what the heck?"

"Yes!" Tucker exclaimed, happily.

"Just as long as that kid doesn't come near me." Mike said, warning Tucker.

Vincent looks at Mike for a second and he said, "That might be a little bit of an impossibility."

"We can watch Meena perform." Morrison replied.

* * *

Morrison definitely brought all of his power back! That song was 'Praying' from Kesha and this chapter is actually a re-write from the original chapter I wrote with a different song choice. Hope ya'll like! Next up, Meena performs!


	55. Shout-Out to the Ex

And this chapter is a suggestion from Shingamalover2, so...here it is!

* * *

Chapter 55: Shout-Out to the Ex

After Morrison's amazing performance, Meena was called to the stage to perform her song and he took a deep breath and just walked to the stage before a throng of audience cheered as she walked by and got to the mic stand to perform and giving what she had been through with Trevor, she knew that this would be a personal freedom anthem for her and also a coup de gras finale of his existence and she took a deep breath and just imagined Trevor in her mind and as soon as the music started playing, she started off very sweet and humble with the vocals and then as the upbeat tempo kicks in, she definitely held nothing back at all.

 _It's hitting me bad_

 _and you drove me crazy_

 _It's thirty-six steps to the front door, baby_

 _Step twenty-nine, gonna see what you done_

 _But it's too late, too late_

 _the chains are gonna come_

 _You bought my love_

 _You say you need my desire_

 _You got a million dollars, but you still can't buy it_

 _Step twenty-nine in the interspeed, gone_

 _But it's too late, too late_

 _Change, you're gonna come_

Meanwhile, miles away at a local prison at the holding room, almost every prisoner is watching Meena perform on TV and some are getting into it and one of the prisoners, wearing a black and white striped jumpsuit just walked past the other prisoners until he stopped and heard a familiar voice somewhere and he looked at the TV and what met before his eyes were mixtures of curiosity, shock, surprise and outrage to the fact that he couldn't believe what he's seeing right in front of him.

"Meena?"

 _Love is blind, but now I see_

 _I don't love you no more_

 _I got twenty twenty_

 _Got your number, got your number_

 _Finally awakening from the spell that I was under_

 _See my lightning, hear my thunder_

 _I'm wakin', I'm wakin', I'm wakin', I'm wakin' up_

 _I got your number, I got your number_

 _Finally awakening from the spell that I was under_

 _See my lightning in my bottle_

 _I got it, I got it, I got your number_

Trevor was just staring at the TV watching Meena perform and he could tell that the song she's singing is directly aimed towards him after all the stuff he had put her through, including forcing her to be his girlfriend and trying to claim her life when she turned him down and it was just like an icy punch straight to the gut for him to see her soar while he's sitting in prison and he responded with just an angry snort because of it.

"Girlfriend of yours?" asked one prisoner, standing behind him eating his sandwich loudly.

Trevor got irritated by the fact that he was, first...being asked if Meena was his girlfriend and secondly, watching Meena gain her power back from Trevor and he snarled at the screen with a huge bitter, begrudging look on his face and grumbled, "You still should've been mine..."

Back on stage, the crowd started singing along and even dancing to it as well, completely freeing whatever inhibitions that they may have as they got lost into the song as Meena keeps on singing. She definitely kept her focus on performing the heck out of it while also taking shots at Trevor too.

 _Five three four, double six four seven_

 _Don't need it anymore_

 _I delete it and forget it_

 _I got pictures of us, worth a thousand words_

 _But can you see, see, see that I have any hurt?_

 _A lot of people say that one's a lonely number_

 _But I'm skipping to the beat and I'm the only drummer_

 _Floor to the floor and I'm a perfect ten_

 _I'm gonna shake it up, shake it up, shake it up_

 _Love is blind, but now I see_

 _I don't love you no more_

 _I got twenty twenty_

 _Got your number, got your number_

 _Finally awake from the spell I was under_

 _See my lightning, hear my thunder_

 _I'm wakin', I'm wakin', I'm wakin', I'm wakin' up_

 _I got your number, got your number_

 _Finally awke from the spell I was under_

 _See my lightning in a bottle_

 _I got it, I got it, I got your number_

Morrison was just dancing along to the beat as well as cheering for Meena for commanding the stage and just owning it the best way possible and also with the reference to million dollars meaning that she's definitely over Trevor for good and he has a sneaking feeling that if he were to watch this in prison, he'll probably think to himself, 'what the heck was I thinking?' or maybe kick himself. Knowing him, he'll be furious and maybe plan to punch the TV screen.

The rest of the crew were both cheering for Meena and dancing along to the song as well and Gunter has an attempt to shake his piggy booty and Morrison glared at him and said, "If you twerk, I'll pretend we never met."

"You gotta get into the beat!" Gunter exclaimed.

Back at the prison, everyone watched Meena perform her heart out and just got into it and the only person annoyed by this is Trevor and he could tell that she's calling him out because he was a spoiled millionaire son who couldn't get the one thing that he wanted; a girlfriend to be the envy of everyone in the school and because of that one little dumb sense of entitlement, he ended up costing his own freedom.

Trevor watched in agony and fury as Meena called him out while she's singing along with her eyes locked directly to the screen as if he's watching.

 _Don't wanna ring, ring_

 _Don't got a ring, ring_

 _I don't need you anymore, I got everything-thing_

 _Don't want a ring, ring_

 _Don't got a ring, ring_

 _I don't need you anymore, I got everything-thing_

 _Don't want a ring, ring (I got your number, got your number)_

 _Don't got a ring, ring_

 _I don't need you anymore, I got everything-thing_

 _(Got your number, got your number)_

Most of the prisoners were ragging on Trevor and even sang the song straight to his face and that literally made Trevor lose his cool and just fought some of the inmates as he started a big melee between him and the other inmates. Several of the officers immediately stepped in to stop this, but Trevor's rage was blinding that he struck at the officers by grabbing one of their tasers to use it at them and the inmates, but some of the officers bodyslammed him to the ground and tackled him like a sack of potatoes.

After that, they dragged him out of the holding cell and got sent to another cell and as Trevor stood up, he saw three gorillas standing there looking at him and Trevor chuckled arrogantly and said, "I'm untouchable, losers."

One big gorilla stands up and walks straight to him with a serious, yet smirk-ish look on his face and responded in a cockney accent, "Is that what you think, mate?"

Back at the Moon Theater, the entire audience is getting into it as they kept dancing and singing to Meena's performance as she finishes it up in the best way possible.

 _Got your number, got your number_

 _Finally awake from the spell I was under_

 _See my lightning, hear my thunder_

 _I'm wakin', I'm wakin', I'm wakin', I'm wakin' up_

 _I got your number, got your number_

 _Finally awake from the spell I was under_

 _See my lightning in a bottle_

 _I got it, I got it, I got it, I got your number_

 _I'm an uptown baby with a downtown car_

 _Got all four aces and four laws_

 _In the north, in the south, in the east, in the west_

 _Number one-two-three-four directions_

 _There were twenty-one tears rolling down your cheeks_

 _And I'mma get where I'm going on my own two feet_

 _I got all four aces and talk is cheap_

 _So baby read 'em and read 'em and read 'em_

 _Got your number!_

She sustained that note as long as she could and then just wrapped it up with a huge amount of cheers, applause and standing ovations from all over the audience, plsu backstage where everyone was just cheering for Meena, mainly Morrison as he was happy to see her back in her happy place and just slayed that performance to perfection and he exclaimed, "All right, Meena! That's my girlfriend!"

Suddenly, he realized he just let it slip out of his mouth, which lead to a few jaws to be dropped from Mike, Gunter, Joshua, Emily, Braxton and Rosita. However, Johnny, Ash and Vincent were not surprised at the least and Morrison covered his mouth and looked at everyone else and asked, "You didn't hear that part, did you?"

"We heard it." everyone answered.

* * *

Yep, that's a kiss-off to Trevor! The song was Got Your Number, though I don't know who sings it! Thanks to Shingmalover2 for the idea!


	56. More Performances

And the fundraiser goes on...

* * *

Chapter 56: More Performances

Meena walked backstage and she saw some supportive acts standing there, complimenting her with praise and amazement over her song and Vincent was the first one to say, "You completely slayed the stage, Meena!"

"Thank you...I think." Meena said, meekly with a smile.

Morrison agreed with that and despite accidentally revealing the secret while cheering her on, he looks at her with a smile and said, "You did awesome out there on stage! It's almost as if you gave Trevor a final blow to the head with that kiss-off song."

Meena giggled in response to that and she said, "I know. For some reason, I felt as if he was there in spirit and I just imagined him being the only one in the audience and I get to tell him off in song, just to say that he doesn't own me. I don't think I've ever felt that empowered before."

"I gotta admit, Jumbo...I never thought you had it in you." Mike said, tipping his hat to her.

"Thanks, Mike." Meena replied.

Tucker looks up at everyone and asked, "So I guess the concert is over now?"

"Not necessarily, young man. That's just the first set; the next set is everyone involved in duets, solo again and the big finale...everyone together for a big performance to wow the crowd to their feet." Buster walks in.

They knew that there will be more performances to go for the entire fundraiser and there's nothing more that they love to do that give out encores to the people and all of them were completely enthusiastic about it and Vincent picked up Tucker and said, "We'll get back to our seats."

"Actually, Vince...I kinda wanna stick around here for a while." Tucker added.

That proposition surprised Morrison after hearing that Tucker might want to stick around and hang out backstage with the others and he smiled and told him, "Sounds cool. I'll keep an eye on him."

"You never have before." Vincent said, teasing him.

Morrison chuckled softly as Vincent walked out of the backstage, leaving Tucker standing next between Morrison and Johnny and the little 3rd grader cub asked, "So...what happens now?"

"First up, on the duo side, we have two very dynamic performers ready for the stage! One's a cheetah and the other is a gorilla, but put them together and you got a cornucopia of talent!" Buster exclaimed.

Most of the audience, plus the ones backstage were confused and surprised at they heard Buster say cornucopia in front of everyone and Morrison whispered to Johnny, "I was with him right up until cornucopia."

"Well, anyways...give it up for Johnny and Morrison!" Buxter exclaimed.

Soon afterwards, Morrison picked up his guitar and Johnny said, "You ready for this, Morris?"

"Let's do it." Morrison said, with an excited, yet very driven look.

That performance Morrison did on the first time completely gave him a new sense of confidence and as the two gathered on the stage, Eddie motioned Johnny to come over to bring in the piano to the stage and as he did so, Morrison got prepped up as he sat on his stool with guitar at the ready and after Johnny sat down, he took a deep breath and planted his fingers on the keyboards and after he played piano, Morrison strummed his guitar to an upbeat song with Johnny. Though their tastes in music differ, when they perform...it's undeniably unstoppable and everyone is starting to pick up from it as Johnny sings the first part of the song.

 _Johnny: Wish that you could build a time machine_

 _so you could see the things no one can see_

 _Feels like you're standing on the edge_

 _Looking at the stars and wishing you were them_

 _Morrison: What do you do when a chapter ends?_

 _Do we close the book and never read it again_

 _Where do you go when the story's done?_

 _You can be who you were or who you become_

 _Both: Ohh-oh-oh-oh-oh-ohh-oh_

 _If it all goes wrong_

 _Ohh-oh-oh-oh-oh-ohh-oh_

 _Darling, just hold on_

 _Johnny: The sun goes down and it comes back up_

 _Morrison: The world it turns, no matter what_

 _Both: Ohh-oh-oh-oh-ohh-oh_

 _If it all goes wrong_

 _Darling, just hold on_

Soon enough, both instruments were getting to the beat of the song and both of them found great rhythm with each other as they perform their hearts out on the stage and everyone in the audience is literally getting into the beat and everyone started dancing, even Gunter and Rosita were dancing on the side of the stage as did almost everyone else.

 _Morrison: It's not over until the time is set_

 _It's not over till your dying breath_

 _So what do you want now, to say where you're gone?_

 _Had you given up or did you keep going on?_

 _Johnny: What do you do when a chapter ends?_

 _Do we close the book and never read it again_

 _Where do you go when the story's done?_

 _You can be who you were or who you become_

 _Morrison: The sun goes down and it comes back up_

 _Johnny: The word it turns, no matter what_

 _Both: Ohh-oh-oh-oh-ohh-oh_

 _If it all goes wrong_

 _Darling, just hold on_

They kept on playing their instruments and they complimented each other perfectly with the mixture of combined sounbds where the piano keys shuffled through the guitar strings and both guys had a groove they can muster and just enjoyed the heck out of performing. It had gotten to a point where Morrison would cue Johnny to do a piano solo and show off his keyboarding skills with his fingertips and then he would cue Morrison with his somewhat insanely mad guitar skills, which blew Johnny and the audience away, but not surprising his family, his school friends, skater friends and Meena, who was watching from backstage because they've heard what he can do with the guitar, even going as far as playing them on his feet.

After the guitar solo, they resumed performing as they finished out the song together.

 _Both: Ohh-oh-oh-oh-oh-ohh-oh_

 _If it all goes wrong_

 _Darling, just hold on_

After that, the entire crowd erupted in cheers for both of them and both of them just took it all in and both of them bowed to the crowd as they gave each other high-fives and both paws intertwined with each other to showcase their strength and loyalty and that their love of performing runs deeper. Both left the stage as Buster exclaimed, "Are they dynamic or what? Show your love for Johnny and Morrison, folks!"

They bowed again as they went backstage and they were both super euphoric after that hella performance and Gunter exclaimed, "That was like totally bomb!"

"Thanks, Gunter." Johnny said, chuckling.

"Did you really play the guitar with your feet?" asked Rosita, completely surprised.

Morrison nodded his head at that and that stunned Rosita the most and asked, "Who taught you how to do that?"

"At this music camp Meena and I went to, there was this guy who's a part of a rock band that was born without arms and he taught himself how to play guitar with his feet and it shows that despite him being born without arms that doesn't mean you can't go after your dreams no matter your situation. I saw how he did it and I had at first thought, 'there's no way...', but then he gave us all a one-on-one demonstration that I realized that it is possible with a lot of practice and perseverance." Morrison answered.

"I wish I could do that." Johnny said, blown away.

"I wouldn't even play my saxophone with my feet. That's just too weird." Mike added.

"Just be grateful you do have arms to play sax, Mikey." Morrison pointed out.

Mike got slightly annoyed when Morrison jokingly names him Mikey and he said, "Don't call me that name."

"May I call you Mikey?" asked Tucker.

Mike glared at Tucker and replied, "No, you may not."

"Looks like you found your match, Mike." Ash said, chuckling.

Mike grumbles in response to that to the fact that he has to put up with Tucker, at least for part of the show and soon enough, another pairing started calling to the stage; Meena and Joshua. Morrison wished them the best of luck as they went on stage, with Joshua's stomach tied up in knots, knowing that there's no turning back on performing, but with Meena there, it might help him build up his confidence a little bit.

* * *

Who knew that Morrison plays the guitar with his feet? That song was 'Just Hold On' from Steve Aoki and Louis Tomlinson! Stay tuned for more!


	57. Newfound Confidence

Second performance from Meena and Joshua, but their first as a duet!

* * *

Chapter 57: Newfound Confidence

Meena and Joshua stepped into the stage and with an audience cheering for them, Joshua could feel the tightness coming in his stomach as they hit the spotlight and he keeps thinking about the rehearsals he spent with Meena over this song and as soon as the cheering subsides, Joshua took a few sudden breaths and Meena looked at the troubled young teen gorilla with the beanie with an encouraging smile and Joshua looked straight at her and somehow, his worried expression slowly started relaxing a little bit as soon as the music plays and all Joshua did was look at her on cue as the first few strings started playing on the background.

 _Meena: I found myself dreaming_

 _it was over and gone_

 _Like a scene from a movie_

 _that every broken heart knows_

 _Joshua: We were walking on moonlight_

 _and you pulled me close_

 _Just for second and then you disappeared_

 _and then I was all alone_

 _Meena: Woke up in tears_

 _with you by side_

 _Joshua: Breath of relief and I realized_

 _No, we're not promised tomorrow_

 _Both: So I'm gonna love you_

 _like I'm gonna lose you_

 _I'm gonna hold you_

 _like I'm saying goodbye_

 _Wherever we're standing_

 _I won't take you for granted_

 _Cause we'll never know when_

 _we'll run out of time_

 _So I'm gonna love you like I'm gonna lose you_

 _I'm gonna love you like I'm gonna lose you_

 _Joshua: In the blink of an eye_

 _just a whisper of smoke_

 _You could lose everything_

 _The truth is you never know_

 _Meena: So I'll kiss you longer, babe_

 _Any chance that I get_

 _I'll make the most of the minutes_

 _and love with no regrets_

 _Joshua: Let's take our time_

 _to say what we want_

 _Meena: Use what we got_

 _before it's all gone_

 _Both: Cuz no...we're not promised tomorrow_

 _So I'm gonna love you like I'm gonna lose you_

 _I'm gonna hold you like I'm saying goodbye_

 _Wherever we're standing, I won't take you for granted_

 _Cuz we'll never know when we'll run out of time_

 _So I'm gonna love you like I'm gonna lose you_

 _I'm gonna love you like I'm gonna lose you_

Everyone became captivated by their singing and it looked as if the chemistry between Meena and Joshua when performing is evident and Morrison became amazed at Joshua's soulful voice with a hint of vulnerable pain that came with it and maybe Meena's demeanor helped him out and brought out the best of him as he grows comfortable on stage. Morrison knew that Joshua is really talented in every chance he sees him rehearse and everyone else standing backstage could see this kid's potential. The only person that isn't sure of that was Joshua himself and he needs some help on it, but for the moment, he's just taking it all in.

Joshua lets out a little smile and Meena smiled back as well as they headed backstage and Rosita was the first one to say, "That is just amazing! You two were like fire and ice on the stage!"

"Ja, you were like totally friedstuppen!" Gunter exclaimed, laughing.

Joshua raised his eyebrows after hearing that random compliment from Gunter and he said, "Thanks, I think..."

Rosita chuckled in understanding and she went to him and said, "You'll get used to it for a while."

Next up, Buster calls on Ash and Braxton to perform onstage and the two made their way to the stage almost immediately and everyone just stands by and enjoys the show and before long, the rest of the acts had done their duet portion of the fundraiser and before long, Buster took a look at the tote on the center of the stage where the numbers shifted in many numbers given to the amount of donations pouring in from anyone watching it on TV or on their electronic devices on livestream and the tote comes to $7,801.

"Look at that number! We're almost nearing 8 thousand! All we need now is 200,000 so please donate as much as you can!" Buster exclaimed.

Most of the acts were so amazed by performing in front of people that they almost forgot it's for a good cause, but they love the idea of performing for charity more than anything and Tucker walks beside Morrison and he pulls out a couple of coins and $5 from his pocket to give to Morrison. The teen cheetah was taken aback by his brother's generosity and asked, "Why are you giving me this?"

"Well, I kinda want to give contribute to something. I wanted to before the show started, but never had time for it." Tucker answered.

Morrison chuckles in response and the fact that his brother would do this for the fundraiser blows him away and suddenly, he had a better idea and he gives back the money to Tucker and said, "Why don't you give it to Mr. Moon?"

Tucker was very surprised by the suggestion that Morrison gave to him and asked, "You think I should?"

"Yeah, you should." Morrison replied.

Tucker thought about it for a second and with the encouragement from his brother and to make up for time lost to contribute to a small portion for the fundraiser, he took a chance and walked across the stage, surprising the audience plus his family as he comes to Buster and even the koala was surprised to see Tucker coming by. Without saying a word, Tucker pulls out his $5 and some change to Buster and then Tucker said, "I wanted to contribute for the fundraiser with how much I have. I think the families need this more than I do."

The audience lets out a collective 'aww' when they witnessed Tucker's act of kindness on full display on the stage and Buster smiled at him and said to the audience, "Now that's the example of a compassionate soul, willing to give what he has for a huge cause!"

Morrison looks ahead and sees Tucker's compassion shown across the stage and he's completely stealing the spotlight in the most selfless way possible and he whispered, "I'm proud of you, little bro."

"I wish my kids were like Tucker." Rosita said, almost tearful.

"Your little brother is so sweet!" Meena exclaimed.

"I want to adopt him." Ash added.

Mike scoffs at this and said, "A little kid giving his money to a cause...big deal. He's doing it for attention!"

"Don't hate, Mike. Just appreciate." Morrison pointed.

"What he said." Braxton agreed.

"Whatever." Mike replied.

* * *

Very cute! The song was 'Like I'm Gonna Lose You' from Meghan Trainor and John Legend! disneymaster1, there's the duet, just a different song choice and no worries, Meena and Morrison are boyfriend and girlfriend...in case you were wondering! Thanks for the suggestion anyway! More coming up!


	58. Grand Finale!

And the big wrap-up of this amazing fundraiser!

* * *

Chapter 58: Grand Finale

Almost two hours later, as the acts had concluded the second solo performances, everyone in the crowd were still sticking around for the final wrap-up of the fundraiser and Buster heads to the stage and he said, "Well, I would love to thank everyone who came all the way to the theater for our fundraiser to help out a very special cause and for everyone that's watching at home or wherever you are! Before we bring in the finale, let's check the tote!"

Eddie pulls down the tote board and he presses the button to determine the final tote and suddenly, once the tote brought in the full-on total amount, it completely shattered all expectations as it reached way beyond the end result; $400,000. Buster was shocked that they've went far beyond the $200,000 goal for the families of the victims that had lost their daughters to savage deaths of Trevor and half of his goons and he exclaimed, "WE DID IT! We've gone way beyond our goal because of you all! You have all donated $400,000!"

Everyone in the crowd cheered hysterically that they've reached way beyond the intended goal that they were going for and it made the victim's families super humble and grateful for the selfless acts that others had showed and it completely confirms their hard work on making their voices heard pay off bigger than they dreamed. Buster then turns to the crowd and said, "I think this calls for a celebration as a big thank you for all of your generous contribution and let's have all of our acts come out and close this fundraiser with a big bang!"

The crowd began cheering and applauding as the lights started dimming down and the intro of a rock song started playing in the background and out comes Ash coming out of the shadows and into the spotlight with her guitar as she sings the first part of the song.

 _Ash: Go ahead as you waste your days with thinking_

 _when you fool everyone's hands_

 _Morrison: Another day and you've had your fill of sinking_

 _with the held in your..._

 _Both: Hands are shaking cold_

 _these hands are meant to hold_

 _Mike: Speak to me_

 _All three: When all you've got to keep is strong_

 _Move along, move along like I know you do_

 _And even when your hope is gone_

 _Move along, move along just to make it through_

 _Gunter: Move along_

 _Rosita: Move along_

 _Joshua: So a day when you've lost yourself completely_

 _could be a night when your life ends_

 _Johnny: Such a heart that will lead you to deceiving_

 _How the pain held in your..._

 _Meena: Hands are shaking cold_

 _Your hands are mine to hold_

 _Meena and Morrison: Speak to me!_

 _All together: When all you've got to keep is strong_

 _Move along, move along like I know you do_

 _And even when your hope is gone_

 _Move along, move along just to make it through_

 _Move along_

 _Braxton and Tanner: Go on, go on, go on, go on_

 _Morrison, Johnny, Ash, Mike, Rosita, Brutus and Joshua: When everything is wrong_

 _we move along_

 _Emily and Victoria: Go on, go on, go on, go on_

 _All: When everything is wrong_

 _We move along!_

 _Along!_

 _Along!_

 _Along!_

The crowd just got fired up from the performance and then it hits the drums and then it segues into a piano bit done beautifully by Johnny as he belts out the next verse.

 _Johnny: When all you've got to keep is strong_

 _Move along, move along like I know you do_

 _And even when your hope is gone_

 _Move along, move along just to make it through!_

Suddenly, the bands combined their awesome prowess and continued their pop punk energetic frenzy as the crew concluded the song with the entire crowd jamming and dancing to it.

 _All: When all you've got to keep is strong_

 _Move along, move along like I know you do_

 _And even when your hope is gone_

 _Move along, move along just to make it through_

 _Meena: Just to make it through..._

Soon enough, the entire stage unveiled a rain of confetti and streams all over the audience and the stage as well as unveiling the balloons from the ceiling for the crowd to conclude the show in the biggest way possible, which took all of the acts by surprise, but they focused on finishing up the performance.

 _All: When all you've got to keep is strong_

 _Move along, move along like I know you do_

 _And even when your hope is gone_

 _Move along, move along just to make it through_

 _Move along_

 _Ash and Morrison: Go on, go on, go on, go on_

 _All: Right that what is wrong_

 _We move along_

 _Johnny and Meena: Go on, go on, go on, go on_

 _All: Right that what is wrong_

 _We move along_

 _Rosita and Gunter: Go on, go on, go on, go on_

 _All: Right that what is wrong_

 _We move along_

 _Joshua and Brutus: Go on, go on, go on, go on_

 _All: Right that what is wrong_

 _We move along_

 _MOVE ALONG_

The song ended and the entire crowd cheered with thrilling excitement and just all around amazement and everyone stood where they were as they held hands and took a bow and even Meena and Morrison held their hands as they raise up in the air and it definitely confirms their relationship is growing a lot solid now. Morrison looks down and sees his skater friends, friends from school and even his former track teammates there on the audience, each of them chanting his name. For Morrison, he felt like he was being redeemed a second chance to perform again and this was definitely the best night of his life.

"That's my son!" Morrison's mom exclaimed.

"That's our granddaughter!" Meena's grandfather exclaimed.

* * *

The finale song was 'Move Along' from All-American Rejects! Awesome finish! Stay tuned for more!


	59. The Massive Impact

So the performance aspect is over, but what of Morrison and Meena? The answer is right here...

* * *

Chapter 59: The Massive Impact

Soon after the fundraiser, Morrison and family headed back home and Morrison just looked at the stars in the sky and most of his family were just talking about the fundraiser and how amazing Morrison was onstage and Morrison's dad proudly looked at his son on the car mirror and said, "How did it feel to perform in public again, son?"

"I have to admit, it did feel really good. I know that I was a little unsure at first, but once I hit the stage, I knew that there was no turning back. Just one of those make or break things, you know?" Morrison replied.

"Well, you definitely held nothing back. I never realized how much emotion and strength you pulled into your voice. I almost cried and wanted to shout to the rooftops that that's my son out there." Morrison's mom stated.

"That would've been embarrassing if you did that with your signature yodel cheer you throw out." Vincent stated, twiddling his fingers with his phone.

Morrison chuckled in response and he just felt like this moment was sinking in his brain and looking back on his performance back at the Moon Theater, after 5 years of going silent from performing onstage due to personal hurdles he had faced before, he felt as if his strength had returned tenfold. Sure, there may be people who may not like nor care for his performance, but he isn't gonna let that get to him nor let other people's jealousy define him. At the end of the day, all that matters is that he can do anything he sets his mind to regardless of whatever happens.

Morrison then turned to Tucker, who fell asleep on the backseat of the van and just let out a soft chuckle and pulls out his phone and takes a picture of Tucker asleep, then posted it on his Insta-growl with no caption underneath it and puts his phone back on his pocket and he could hear a couple of thousand blips on Sierra's phone and he asked, "What's with all the text messages you've gotten?"

"I've got a lot of texts from guys who saw you perform on TV and many of them wanted to ask me out on a date! There's so many cute guys, I just can't decide who I should accept their invitation." Sierra said, completely overwhelmed.

"Why not bring them all in to meet dad?" asked Morrison.

"Are you serious? I can't do that! Dad will like completely scare them off by the first meeting." Sierra exclaimed.

Morrison's dad chuckled in agreement with that and he said, "Just for the first 15 seconds when they step into the house. I'll interrogate them first and then scare them off."

Sierra scoffs at that idea and scrolled through her phone and received 4 new messages from other guys and Morrison sighed at this and said to himself, "My sister, always boy-crazy."

"I heard that." Sierra remarked.

After just a few minutes, they fulled up to the garage of their house and Morrison's dad lets out a deep exhale and asked, "Is everyone exhausted as I am?"

Everyone else agreed that they're all exhausted, even after cheering for Morrison at the fundraiser including Morrison himself and then Vincent said, "Tucker is."

Everyone turned around to see Tucker falling asleep on the backseat of the minivan and Morrison's mom felt like her heart had just melted after that sight and Morrison unbuckled his seat and unbuckled Tucker's and carried him up to his little brother's room as everyone else headed inside. Everyone left their shoes on the living room floor and as everyone headed to their respective areas, Morrison carries Tucker all the way to his room and gently sets him on his bed, gently pats his head and silently leaves the room until...

"Mo, can you sing to me?"

Morrison froze for a second and he wasn't surprised by that one request that would slip out of Tucker's mouth and he walks over to his brother's side and said, "You've heard me sing all night, Tuck."

"I know, but I always like it better when you sing to me." Tucker answered.

Morrison knows that this was the only way to get Tucker to sleep and he really does like to sing to Tucker a lot and he graciously accepts and then runs through what kind of song he's thinking of and then...an idea pops out of his head and it was something he had heard on Meena's Stripe-fy playlist from sometime ago and it was a definite fitting for Tucker to sum up their brotherhood and to ensure that their relationship is solid.

"Okay, I got one." Morrison added.

Morrison clears his throat as Tucker lets out a little yawn and he starts singing to Tucker, in the most gentle voice to come out of his mouth.

 _All alone, wishing on the stars_

 _Waiting for you to find me_

 _One sweet night, I knew I would see_

 _a stranger could be my friend_

 _When someone in the dark reaches out to you_

 _And touches of a spark that comes shining through_

 _It tells you, 'never be afraid'_

 _When somewhere in your heart, you can feel the glow_

 _A light to keep you warm when the night winds blow_

 _Like it was written in the stars_

 _I knew_

 _My friend_

 _Why, someone in the dark was you_

Tucker had soon felt like he was almost drifting to a deep sleep and Morrison kept going, not knowing that Tucker's already falling asleep.

 _Promise me we'll always be_

 _Walking the world together_

 _Hand in hand, where dreams never end_

 _My star-secret friend and me_

 _When someone in the dark_

 _reaches out to you_

 _And touches of a spark_

 _that comes shining through_

 _It tells you, 'never be afraid'_

 _When somewhere in your heart_

 _you can feel a glow_

 _A light to keep you warm_

 _when the night winds blow_

 _Look for a rainbow in the sky_

 _Oh, I believe you and I_

 _can never really say goodbye..._

Morrison pauses and hears Tucker lightly snoring and that still holds true that Tucker feels secure when Morrison sings to him at night and he lets out a smile and just finished out the last parts as he slowly made his way out of the room.

 _Wherever you may be_

 _I'll look up and see_

 _Someone in the dark_

 _for me_

 _Wherever you may be_

 _I'll look up and see_

 _Someone in the dark_

 _for me..._

He gently leaves the room and shuts off the light and whispered, "Good night, Tucker."

He leaves the door cracked open and silently walked back to his room where he just sits down on his bed, contemplating what went on earlier today and he just literally summed up everything in one word; EPIC. After his performance at the fundraiser, he felt a renewed sense of confidence and purpose to sing from the heart once again and it felt like what he had been through the last five years was just a test to come back stronger amidst all the suffering he had went through. But it was all worth it when he returned to his first love; a decision that really made him grow as a person.

Over these past recent weeks, he had went from track prodigy with a secret love of singing to full-fledged performer in comeback mode. And maybe all of it happened for one reason and one reason only; the support of his friend turned girlfriend, Meena. He then began examining his feelings for her and after all that had occured; dealing with Trevor's manipulative indiscretions, his arrogant entitled personality and his dangerous tendencies. All of those came rushing to his mind as to how it all came to be and the end result was when they actually kissed for the first time.

When all of those filled up the pieces of the puzzle, it could mean one thing; they both have deep feelings for each other.

Just then, Morrison receives a text from Meena and he picks up the phone and said, 'Excellent comeback performance, Mo! I knew you could do it!'

Morrison chuckled at this and quickly responded back, 'Thanks, Meena...for believing in me even when I didn't think I could.'

He sent it to her and several seconds later, she responded back, 'I always believe in you. You're the sweetest guy in the world. OMG, did I just say that?'

Morrison saw the text and he just couldn't help but be tickled by it and he sent back, 'Yes, you did say that. And thank you.' with a smiley heart-eyed emoji. Only to be responded back by Meena as she texted him, 'Take a look at the window.'

Morrison became curious as to what she meant by that and he went to the window and saw Meena standing there, face to face with Morrison and both of them smiled at each other with a chuckle and he opens up the window and said, "So..."

"Meet me outside." Meena replied.

Morrison blinked his eyes, hoping that he didn't misheard what she said and he silently snuck downstairs to the backyard and he opened up the door and headed to the front yard where he sees Meena standing there and both of them were just looking at each other and and Morrison said, "I guess I owe everything to you for getting me back to performing tonight."

"And I owe you for saving me from Trevor. If it wasn't for you, I would've ended up like those other girls that suffered the same fate." Meena added.

Morrison blinked his eyes and he said, "I just don't like it when someone tries to mess with you or make you feel like an enemy. At first, I thought it was instinct, but I did some soul searching and realized that all of those happened for a reason...and maybe that reason is that I've always had..."

Morrison paused as he realized where this was gonna lead to and Meena asked, "Feelings for me?"

Morrison didn't really say anything because Meena had answered it for him already and that silence had sealed the deal that they're definitely boyfriend and girlfriend and he just nodded his head and asked, "So...what happens now?"

Both of them came a little closer towards each other and both Morrison and Meena knew that there would be no turning back after this moment and they ended up kissing each other on the lips tenderly and after that, both of them were looking at each other and Morrison answered, "Guess that answers that question."

"There's no one else I'd want to be with than you, Mo." Meena answered.

Noting that Meena shares the same feelings with him as he has with her, Morrison holds her hand and said, "And there's no one else that I'd want to be with other than you too."

They both kissed each other on the lips again for a real good while and it was like everything that came in his dreams made it a full-fledged reality and thier love for each other is starting to grow by the minute. After the kiss, it is clear that there's a relationship in the early stages of beginning and that the perfect guy Meena was searching for is here the whole time...right next door.

"I should probably head back inside now." Meena said, sheepishly.

"Yeah, me too. So...see you tomorrow?" asked Morrison, hopeful.

"Yep, tomorrow." Meena replied, giggling.

Both of them headed back to their separate houses and as soon as Morrison headed back inside, he just placed his back against the wall, sighing happily that he kissed Meena again, but this time...as boyfriend and girlfriend, officially.

"Life is good..." Morrison said, with a sigh.

* * *

I know that it took almost 60 chapters in half of the year than I normally put out, but the wait was definitely worth it to put out Meena and Morrison's first kiss! The song Morrison sang to Tucker was Michael Jackson's 'Someone in the Dark'! I own no rights to any but my OC's! The next chapter...Meena and Morrison's official first date!


	60. School Dance

And here's where Morrison and Meena are now...

* * *

Chapter 60: School Dance

4 months later

At the school gym, everyone dressed up to the nines as they're attending the school dance in high school and everyone was just dancing, talking, drinking punch, taking selfies and things like that and on this particular night, in comes Morrison and Meena walking hand in hand together as their dates for the dance as they have been boyfriend and girlfriend for a good while and almost everyone of his friends noticed it and are getting used to seeing them together.

Johnny and Ash showed together as dates for the dance while most of his friends showed up with dates of their own and Morrison looks up and sees most of his friends coming in and said, "Hey, guys!"

"What up, Mo? I see you and Meena together! I knew that you guys would become an item!" Milo said, chuckling.

Morrison rolled his eyes as he still feels the sting of Milo's suspicion over the two of them together and said, "Bro...we've been together for 4 months and you still suspect there's a thing between us?"

"I think Milo knows you guys are together now. He just wants to get on your skin and act like you're in secret." Bryce pointed out.

Meena giggled in response to that and she said, "There's no secret now."

Johnny nodded in agreement and he said to both Meena and Morrison, "You guys are great together."

"Thanks, Johnny. So do you and Ash." Morrison replied.

Johnny and Ash didn't say anything and soon enough, they kinda had that same feeling they had about their exclusive 'relationship' the same way Meena and Morrison had after a while now and Ash said, "We're just friends, nothing more. I just needed someone to go with to the dance because I can't go back to Lance. He's been texting me nonstop asking if he wants me to be his date for this school. Lance doesn't even go to this school!"

"I think you should cut him off completely on your phone. Like, maybe get a new number." Caden suggested.

"Have Lance call your old number and he'll receive a call from either an old lady or middle-aged dude." Milo agreed.

"Hey, guys...anyone wanna take a selfie with all of us together?" asked one of the dates.

Everyone agreed and wanted to take part in it as one of the dates pulls out her phone, set to camera and everyone got to be in it and they exclaimed, "School dance!"

They were all smiling and pictures were being snapped and they took some more pictures until they were all satisfied with the ones they got as they dispersed to go out dancing. Morrison and Meena were dancing to a very slow song back from the past decade and though Morrison still doesn't care much for teeny-bopper music, he was completely distracted by him slow dancing with Meena and just imagined it was only the two of them dancing together.

"Hey, Mo?" asked Meena.

"Yeah, Meena?" asked Morrison.

"I've never slow danced with anyone before." Meena replied.

"Me neither. I never really thought that I would slow dance with you, despite the countless times I've imagined it to happen if I ever got the chance." Morrison answered.

Meena giggled at this and she said, "I bet you did."

The disco ball shone the reflection of lights glimmering all around the gymnasium as they were all slow-dancing and then, Johnny and Ash danced with each other and Ash said to Johnny, "I hope my little quills doesn't bother you as you're dancing."

"Oh, no...no problem at all." Johnny replied.

Giving that they're just friends, Ash deifnitely felt something about Johnny that she couldn't fully explain and that despite their heights, she became smitten with the gorilla's humility, selflessness, kindness and all-around likeable persona; some qualities that Lance was lacking. She smiled as she kept dancing with him and Johnny became more enamored as he's dancing with her, trying to be very cautious to not get his fingers pricked by her quills.

Soon after the slow dance, the DJ amps it up to an up-tempo dance track from way back when as he announces, "All right, everyone! We're gonna take you back to good old days with this classic song from your parents' time, so let's go ahead and party like it's 1999!"

Most of the students were a little confused by that term, except for Morrison who heard that quote almost daily and said to Meena, "In millenial translation, let's party till the world ends."

The DJ then plays an 80's dance song that almost everyone recognizes from the first beat and everyone immediately went nuts over this song and they were getting into the groove as they dance to it. Morrison and Meena started dancing with each other, showing off their amazing moves they made together and almost everyone at the school dance were getting into it as well, including Johnny and Ash.

Ash was astonished by Johnny's amazing dance moves and never realzied how gifted his dancing skills are and as he showed them off, she started dancing with him a little bit and that caught the attention of Milo, Bryce, Caden, Rodrick, Joshua, Brutus and company that wanted a piece of this and they were cheering for Johnny as well as Morrison and Meena who are dancing up a storm on the dance floor.

Everyone followed their lead and released their inhibitions almost immediately like they didn't have a care in the world and the DJ puts in some strobe lights to keep the party going to a momentum and all of the kids there just had the time of their lives and as for Morrison and Meena, they were completely happy living in the moment together and they looked at each other with a smile on their faces and just lived it up like it was nothing.

Throughout most of the evening, the music switches up to rock, EDM, pop, dance, ballads and even some big-band swings where everyone just got into the whole big band style as everyone starts dancing to swing music. Meena and Morrison were hip to the jive as they danced to it and Meena said, "I wonder if Mike would be into this if he was here."

"He does like swing music, does he?" asked Morrison.

"He lives in it." Meena replied.

Both Meena and Morrison were just dancing their hearts out as the swing music kept playing as they shuffled, swung around, spin around and all sorts of cool moves to go along with this particular swing music and he looks around and sees Johnny getting into it as well and he lets out a chuckle and said, "Swing fever!"

"Feels like it!" Meena agreed.

As the swing song came to a close, Meena and Morrison finished it off with a grand spin as Meena spins around and Morrison grabbed ahold of her and dipped her and they looked at each other into their eyes and it was like there were magnets connected with each other, like two souls combined in one.

* * *

After the dance

Morrison and Meena were laying on the grass near the gym, looking at the stars together and talking about what their hopes and aspirations are for their futures at the Moon Theater, now that Morrison had regained his confidence in performing and Meena asked, "Mo, how long have you had a crush on me?"

Morrison didn't expect that question to come in quickly and he answered, "Since you first moved in...and when we first met at that summer music camp. Even back when I was kid, you were still beautiful when you were shy."

"You really think so?" asked Meena.

"Uh-huh. I just didn't think you'd felt the same way about me and that I'd be friend-zoned, which would've been okay too." Morrison added.

The fact that Morrison admitted that he's had a crush on Meena all these years without even knowing it completely took her by surprise and never knew the reason behind it, but after all these events occurred some months ago brought the two much closer than they ever did and she turned to Morrison and said, "Believe it or not, Mo...I've had a crush on you too. I just didn't want our friendship being jeopardized."

"You had a crush on me?" Morrison asked, in a surprised manner.

"Very much so. I just didn't think you've have a crush on someone who's too clumsy." Meena replied.

"Meena, I'd accept you as you are...no matter what you do." Morrison replied.

Both of them came closer together as Meena blushed a little bit and they kissed each other on the lips and that they're officially a couple together and they ended up holding each other's hands and watched the moonlight shine all around them and for both Morrison and Meena, their growing relationship was just the beginning of something new.

* * *

And that's the end of the story! It took me 6 months to finish this story, on and off for a while, but I finally got it done! Thank you to all who favored and followed this story from the get-go! There will be more Sing fanfics coming soon!

Now, you guys may be asking, what of Trevor? There's a bonus chapter coming in!


	61. Bonus

My apologies for the long wait! This is the first time that I've completed a fic for almost a year! So...Morrison and Meena are official! Which leaves the question...how's Trevor doing?

* * *

Bonus

At the jail

Trevor is sitting on his jail cell, completely bitter and envious that not only does he not get Meena, but has to deal with the fact that he has to spend a very long time in prison. The rage is stemming from the fact that all of his crimes were exposed for the whole world to see and that Meena is flying sky high without him and that the song she performed at the fundraiser telecast was a direct aim at him and he just felt like he was being personally attacked and called out. He clenched his fist tighter and he's holding a huge amount of hate only for Meena, but for Morrison as well.

When and if he gets out of jail or when his lawyers plan to file an appeal to reduce and/or throw away the conviction, he'll got payback against both Morrison and Meena, but with the sentence as it is, the outcome will become very unlikely to happen and he just slammed his fist on the prison wall and put his head against the wall in complete frustration as to how living a life with privilege gets taken away so fast because of one reckless act of violence for personal gratification.

He showed zero remorse for both Meena and Morrison because his attempt to gain power over both of them just slipped out of his fingers and for a privileged person, being refused that request is a hard pill to swallow and he lets out an angry snort to vent out his frustration and fury.

The buzzer sounds off and the officer has announced for lunchtime and as the cell doors open, Trevor walks out with a completely different attire that he's accustomed to; an orange jumpsuit with orange crocs and an inmate number on the side of the jumpsuit; inmate #783321064.

He's definitely not used to prison life and would rather just go back to the mansion and return to privileged life...that is if his parents didn't have cut him off of his luxuries. It was just a new world he wasn't prepared for nor is mentally ready for.

One inmate walked close to Trevor and he said, "You the guy that got dissed by that elephant girl on TV, aren't you? I bet you have a plan to get back at her, huh?"

"How'd you figure?" asked Trevor, with a very smirky tone.

"It's all over the jail cells, man. And I bet you got something to make her suffer?" asked the inmate.

Knowing that he'll have that branded on his back for the duration of his time in prison, he just wants to be anonymous and he looks back at him and answers, "If I knew her, I would've let her come crawling back to me."

After that, he walks away without saying anything else and the best thing for him is to move on with his life...at least in front of the other inmates when secretly, he's thinking about escaping from jail and make Morrison and Meena suffer his wrath once more.

"Someday...just you wait." Trevor said, angrily.

* * *

And that's the end of the story! Finally! Thank you all for liking, reading, subscribing and reviewing this story! I hope you had as much fun reading it as I did writing it! And yes...there will be more Sing fanfics! It's gonna take a while to pop up more fics, so be patient...

until then, AniUniverse out! (mic drop)


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